The Death Games
by thehappypursuit-182
Summary: The bad news is, you have a 21 of 22 chance of dying. The good news is, one of you unlucky suckers will live.
1. Not So Happy Campers Part 1

Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know I should be finishing my other stories, but this popped into my head and I can't get it out. So before you fall asleep reading this, here is _The Death Games._

* * *

_"The bad news is, you have a 21 out of 22 chance of dying. The good news is, one of you unlucky suckers will live."_

_-Chris_

Chris and Chef, our two hosts, stood on the newly polished Dock of Shame awaiting the arrival of the err... um... contestants. Yeah contestants, we'll go with that. "So uhh... Mr. Hatchett-"

"Chef."

"Okay, we'll go with Chef. How did you get this job?" Chris said nervously, eyes trained on the open waters.

"I certainly didn't apply for it," Chef snorted. "and I'm assuming you didn't either." He looked Chris over, as if analyzing.

"No. You could say I was given an offer I couldn't refuse." Chris smiled almost blindingly into the camera. The flashing red dot meant it was recording. The dot was flashing.

"Your life?" Chef asked, so low with his lips barely moving, it was certain the camera didn't catch it.

Chris gave the slightest nod. He looked up at a bird and down at the ground. A horn blared in the distance. "Ah. Our campers are here." He re-applied his phony smile and walked down the dock, to greet the very first camper.

The arrivals went off without a hitch. Well except for that one girl. Ezza? Iggy? It was something like that, who had slipped off her boat and onto the dock. Chin- first I may add. Oh... and that one guy. Justin, who didn't talk much, had temporarily paralyzed everyone with his beauty.

Chris waved his arms to get everyone's attention. "Over here guys." He called. They turned in his direction, and Chris saw 22 of the saddest faces he ever saw, even those starving African kids looked better off. _Don't puke, don't puke, don't puke..._ he thought to himself. "Welcome all of you to Camp Wawanakwa (yeah right, as if they were going to give the actual location) somewhere in Muskoka, Ontario. All 22 will be competing for your most valued possesion-"

"My diamond tennis bracelet?" Some blonde girl said, holding out her wrist. The diamonds caught the sunlight, and it sparkled. "Daddy gave it to me." She said smugly.

Chris fought the urge to slap her. "No not quite," he said, feigning cheerfulness. "Here's how the game works. Once every three days or so, you and your team will compete in a challenge. The winning team will be rewarded in some way, the losing team will vote off one of their team mates, leading them to a certain doom. Capische?"

The contestants stared back, as if surprised. "I don't get it!" The blonde girl whined.

Chris sighed. "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

"The bad news." One girl spoke up, Chris remembered her name was Courtney. "They need to know sooner or later."

Chris nodded. He had been informed that one knew of the plan. "The bad news is, you have a 21 out of 22 chance of dying. The good news is, one of you unlucky suckers will live." Someone gasped.

"So we're competing for our lives?" One girl asked, outraged. Her name was Eva, and Chris only remembered her name because he had thought she was a guy when she arrived. He had accidently called her Evan.

"Yeah, that's more or less right."

"More or less?" A small geeky boy piped up. Cody.

"Technically you're competing to save your life, and kill everyone else, but you were close."

"We have to _kill_ people?" One girl screeched. Heather.

"No. We have people who take care of that. You decide who lives and dies through voting. When and if you are voted off, you will walk down the Dock of Shame, hop on the Boat of Losers and go to your impending doom."

"Dock of Shame? Boat of Losers?" A girl asked. Gwen.

"This was originally going to be a different reality show, you know one where the winner leaves with a large amount of money and the rest leave alive." Chris chuckled, that was how they forced him to be on the show. They had found out about his planned reality TV project, which was supposed to be called_ Total Drama Island._ "I'll show you your cabins now." He led the group over to the cabins.

"These look pretty bad." One camper remarked, as a shutter fell off one of the windows.

"Well, we had little time to prepare." Chef pointed out, as a couple of shingles fell off.

"Okay, now for the teams." Chris said, and began reading names off a list. "You are the Screaming Gophers," He read more names off another list. "and you are the Killer Bass."

"Screaming Gophers? Killer Bass?" A kid named Duncan snorted. "What kind of names are that?"

"Humor me kid." Chris replied. "These are your sleeping arrangements..." he continued, and when everyone was aware of where they would living the last summer of their lives, he said," By the way, here's your mail."

"Mail?" A girl named Leshawna asked.

"Yeah. Apparently, some people actually want to talk to you before you die. Only family wrote letters though." He threw the letters on the ground and walked away.

There was a mad dash as the contestants scrambled to get there mail, and began reading it.

"Hey! Cole sent me a letter!" Cody exclaimed, as he tore the letter out of the package.

"Cole?" Beth asked.

"Yeah my brother. He's probably saying sorry. It's not his fault though, I volunteered." Cody replied, shrugging.

"Volunteered?" asked Gwen. "For what?"

"You know, to be here. You see my brother Cole was supposed to be here and they came to get him just a few days ago. But he has diabetes, and if he went into shock here he would die, so yeah... I said I would go. Of course I didn't know the whole point of the game was to kill everybody off." Cody laughed. "I guess I spoke too soon."

"Well, I didn't volunteer." Trent said, with a half smirk on his face. "They picked me up. I'm a runaway, and I was living on the streets when they found me. They told me to come with them and they would find me a place to stay, and then a couple days later, I found myself here."

"Same here." DJ said. "They just picked me up off the streets."

"Nobody picked me up." Lindsay spoke up. "All I remember is going to sleep on my bed, and waking up on some sort of boat." She looked around, and became surprised when she realized something. "Heather, where's your mail?"

Heather laughed, and the campers were surprised at how haunted it sounded. "Mail? Who would I get _mail _from? My mother? My brother? I don't think so."

"Why?" Gwen asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Heather asked, and the campers nodded. "It happened like this..."

_I was stirring a pot that was on top of the one working element on my stove. "Supper!" I called, and began serving it when my brother came from his room. The door bell rang._

_"I'll get it!" my brother yelled. Swinging the door open, to reveal two men in suits._

_"Mom!" I shouted. "What did you do this time?" My mother came from her room, and she didn't look happy._

_"No." My brother said, shaking his head. "It's for you Heather."_

_"See?" my mother said. "I'm going back to bed."_

_"No." One of the men said. "We need you to sign for something."_

_"What?" my mother screeched. "What did she do?"_

_"Nothing but..." One of the men started. "Oh just read this." _

_My mom read it over. "You want me to sacrifice my daughter's life?" she screeched again._

_"Heather's going to die?" my brother whimpered, and I felt like puking._

_"No. Compete for her life." he said. "It's really quite different."_

_"What if I don't sign it?" My mom said, testing him._

_"Then we kill her here." His finger twitched towards his holster. My mom signed it and gave it to them. "We'll be taking your daughter now." _

Heather smirked. "So I turn towards my mom, and notice that she has tears in her eyes. So I start to say..."

_"It will be okay mom." I say. "I'll just have to win."_

_My mother shakes her head and says, "No. I'm okay. It's just that I've always known you were a mistake Heather, I just didn't know anyone else realized it."_

"And that's when I realized," Heather said, hysterical now, "that they were happy tears." She sobbed and sobbed.

"That's the opposite of what happened to me," Gwen said. "My mother wouldn't give me up. And then they said it was now or later, so she should sign, but she wouldn't sign. So they shot her in the arm, nothing fatal, but she passed out. Then they made my older brother sign, as they held the gun to my head."

Duncan laughed. "At least somebody signed for you." He said. "Juvie just surrendered me, and told my parents I had died of infection. My parents think I'm dead, but I'm here." He laughed again. "Not that they'll miss me."

So it went arond in a circle, until everybody's letters were open, and everybody had shared their story, except for Courtney.

"What about you Courtney?" Bridgette asked her. Bridgette herself had been taken from a hospital.

Courtney smiled as she ripped up her letter. "That was my mom telling me how sorry she was for killing me."

"You mean she's sorry for signing you away?" Geoff asked.

Courtney laughed. "I wish. Do you wonder why you're here, all of you?"

"Of course." Ezekiel said.

"There's this organization called _22,_ because it started out with 22 members. Now there's 23, but who's counting? Anyways they all put out bets on each one of us, saying who they thought would live. The member whose person lives gets a nice raise, and gets to move up a little in status. The player who wins this game, becomes the new boss when they come of age."

"Boss of what?" Harold asked.

"The most powerful organization in the world. Anyways, my mom's one of those members, and when they were deciding between two girls to compete, a crazy and a suicidal one, my mother suggested me, because she didn't want to hurt anyone else's kids." Courtney laughed here. "And the suicidal girl? She jumped off a bridge shortly after. She would have died anyways."

"That's horrible!" Trent said.

"Not really." Courtney said. "Someone had to do it." She got up. "Welcome to The Death Games."

The red dots on the cameras stopped flashing.

* * *

What did you think? -Pursuit


	2. Not So Happy Campers Part 2

Hey guys! Here's the second installment of The Death Games.

Disclaimer: (I always forget these!) I own nothing. Seriously, donations would be great.

* * *

_"I guess somebody had to be first, I just hoped it wouldn't be me."_

_-Ezekiel_

The campers, (or most of them) were asleep. At least until Chris got on the intercom.

"Good morning campers!" Chris shouted over the intercom. The campers groaned. "Sounds like our campers are grumpy this morning!" Chris called out, still over the intercom.

"Shut up Chris." Leshawna said, and there were nods of agreement everywhere.

Chef took the intercom from Chris. "Listen up maggots! You have exactly 15 minutes to be dressed and down at the mess hall or you will be e- lim -i- na- ted." He shouted, dragging the word 'eliminated' out. He clicked off the intercom button as a flurry of motion could be seen over the cameras.

"Nice one." Chris mouthed as they made their way down to the mess hall.

10 minutes later...

"So..." Chris began. "How was your sleep?" He dodged the fork that came flying at him. He chuckled. "You almost got me Duncan." Duncan grumbled.

"Today's challenge (insert groans here) will test your limits, your fears, your courage, your-"

"Get on with it Chris." Heather hissed at him.

"Yeesh." Chris said. "Harshing my mellow much."

"Chris..." Heather threatened again.

"Fine. Today you will jumping off the 1000 foot cliff, into a small target zone in the water. If you miss that target zone," Chris chuckled here, "you better swim as fast as you can."

"Why?" Cody asked.

"We have ordered a shipment of sharks to be placed in the water. These sharks will not be able to get in the target zone however, so whatever you do, land there."

"How do you lose?" Gwen asked.

"That will be explained as we get there. You have exactly 10 minutes to get dressed in swimming attire." The campers scurried out, leaving their bowls of muck untouched.

30 minutes later...

"So Chris, how do you lose?" Gwen asked again.

"You can lose by a) refusing to jump or b) chickening out." Chris replied.

"C-chickening out?" DJ asked, while looking very close to fainting.

"At a price." Chris said, shrugging.

"Price?" Lindsay said. " Because I'm sure Daddy has enough money."

"Not that kind of price, Lindsay." Chris said, exasperated. "Chef," he called out, "bring out the chicken blood."

"C-chicken b-blood?" asked DJ, teeth chattering.

"If you take your chicken," Chris started to explain, "you will be marked with a cross of chicken blood on your forehead."

"Chicken blood?" Courtney scoffed. "That's it?" She dipped her finger in the chicken blood and marked a cross on her forehead.

"What are you doing?" Bridgette hissed at her.

"Taking my chicken and saving your life." she replied.

"How are you saving our lives?" Geoff asked.

"Now you have a reason to vote me off." she shrugged. "Now go jump off a cliff."

_Gwen Confessional_

_"I can't figure out if that girl's crazy, suicidal, insane or all three. She talks about life and death like it's one big game and she's having fun."_

The campers from both teams jumped one by one into the water, except for DJ, Beth and Courtney, who all refused to jump.

Chris smiled. "Great, no one died." He laughed. "Chickens, follow me." He led them down the cliff and towards the other campers.

"Second part of the challenge," Chris announced, and the campers groaned, "is to build yourself a hot tub using the materials here (he pointed to some planks of wood, two pool liners and a bunch of nails) which you will drag to your cabin site and the winner will be rewarded."

The campers just stood there.

"Go, go, go!" Chris shouted, and the campers were off.

_Chris Confessional_

_"I really do hope everything goes smoothly, considering there are a couple of rusty nails in those piles, and we just don't have the tetanus shots or the insurance to cover it."_

Everything was going smoothly for the Screaming Gophers as they were actually working as a team, the Killer Bass, not so well.

Courtney screamed, as another swarm of mosquitoes chased her. "Damn chicken blood!"

"Well it's your own damn fault for chickening out!" Duncan shouted after her. "How come you aren't getting bit?" he asked DJ.

"Mosquitoes don't like me." DJ said, shrugging.

"OMG," Katie said, "I like really have to go to the bathroom."

"OMG, me too!" Sadie said, and they both squealed. "EEEEEEE!"

Bridgette, who was pulling the materials with them, said, "It's fine, I'll pull the materials for now. Just go in the bush or something."

"Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!" Katie and Sadie both said before scampering off.

Bridgette rolled her eyes.

Meanwhile with the Screaming Gophers...

"It's my turn to pull the materials." Trent said, taking the rope from Owen.

"Thanks man," Owen said, "I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything." Trent said, shrugging. "We have to be a team now."

Back with the Killer Bass...

Bridgette was the only one pulling the materials. She sighed as she looked at her other team-mates, who were all wrapped up in their own problems. She realized that all her other team-mates thought it would be okay to slack off, since Courtney had already "sacrificed" herself for the team. She sighed and begin to pick up the pace, as much as she thought Courtney was crazy, she didn't want her to die.

She heard shrieking and squealing in the distance. "Great," she muttered to herself, "the Wonder Twins are back." The said 'Wonder Twins' ran down to the water and jumped in. The other team-mates looked up, decided it didn't matter, and looked away. Groaning, Bridgette dropped the rope and went after them. To her surprise, Geoff picked it up and kept going.

_Bridgette Confessional_

_"Maybe this won't be so bad. I think we're actually starting to work like a team."_

She went down to the edge of the water. "What's the matter?" she asked, instantly regretting it.

"This is what's up!" Katie shrieked, pointing to a rash all over the back of her and Sadies's legs.

"Um you guys..." Bridgette asked, trying not to laugh, "When you went to the bathroom did you happen to notice the plants around you?"

"Umm..." Sadie began, "There was this green thing, and another green thing and then there was this red thing."

"Oh yeah!" Katie said, "And it had pointy leaves!"

"You guys squatted in poison ivy." Bridgette said, openly smiling.

"What do we do?" Katie and Sadie moaned.

"I'll go see if anyone has any calamine lotion." Bridgette said, heading off.

"Hurry!" Katie moaned.

_Bridgette Confessional_

_"Never mind. This is bad. This is really bad."_

She approached Geoff first. "Do you have any calamine lotion?"

"Yeah. In the backpack." He pointed to a backpack not too far away. "Why?"

Bridgette jerked her thumb towards Katie and Sadie. "They squatted in poison ivy." Geoff laughed.

In a couple of minutes Bridgette found Katie and Sadie again, and gave them the calamine lotion. "Here's the calamine lotion."

"Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!" They both said in unison, applying it all over their legs. Bridgette shrugged and walked away.

50 minutes later...

The Screaming Gophers ended up with a pretty nice hot tub. The Killer Bass, well, not so much.

"And the winner is..." Chris went on. "The Screaming Gophers! Your prize is you get to use your hot tub today. The Killer Bass, you will be voting someone off today. But first let's all come down to the mess hall for some lunch."

The Screaming Gophers

"I'm really, really happy we won." Gwen stated, twirling her "food" around with her spoon.

"Me too." Trent agreed with her. "It would have really sucked to see a team mate, umm, well, how do I put this?"

"You mean die?" Heather laughed (which could very easily have been mistaken for a cackle). "What don't you people understand? There's only one winner. Get used to the idea of dying, not everyone's going to live." She smiled, somehow thrilled at having scared all the other campers.

"I'm going to die?" Lindsay wailed. "I thought this was summer camp!" Everyone else groaned.

The Killer Bass

"Well we all know who we're voting off." Duncan said, pointing at Courtney.

"Good. Now that that's settled." Courtney said, sarcastically.

"I can't believe we lost," began Ezekiel. "I mean they have more girls on their team."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Eva shouted, outraged.

"Well it's just that boys are stronger than girls." Ezekiel said, shrugging. "My dad told me to look after the girls here."

Eva grabbed him and raised him up by the collar. "Still think we need protecting now?" Bridgette asked him.

"Hey calm down!" Geoff said. "It's not like he said girls are smarter than boys."

"But they _are!_" Ezekiel protested.

Campfire Ceremony

"Normally at camp, marshmallows represent a tasty snack. At this summer camp however, they represent life and death." Chris said. "One of you will not be getting a marshmallow today. You will take a walk down the Dock of Shame, catch the Boat of Losers and face your impending doom. Let's see who's getting a marshmallow today..."

_Eva Confessional_

_"Ezekiel. The little freak deserves to die. Besides, if I need someone to vote off later, Courtney is a good option."_

_Duncan Confessional_

_"Of course I voted off Courtney. If she wants to die so badly... well, better her than me."_

_Courtney Confessional_

_"They wouldn't let me vote myself off, so Ezekiel."_

"Duncan, Katie, Sadie, DJ, Bridgette..." Chris began. "So finally we have Courtney and Ezekiel. Which will it be?" Chris smirked and opened an envelope. "Courtney," he threw a marshmallow at her, "you're safe."

"What?" she screamed, jumping up. Why aren't I voted off? Which of you didn't vote me off?"

Everyone except Duncan raised their hand. "If it makes you feel better, I voted for you Princess."

"_Thank you._" Courtney replied icily. She turned to Chris. "Is there a sacrifice system?"

Chris shook his head. "It doesn't work that way. You have to be voted off." Courtney screamed.

"Well Ezekiel," Chris started, "any last words?"

"Yeah actually." Ezekiel said. "I guess somebody had to be first, I just hoped it wouldn't be me." He smiled weakly. "Time to catch my boat, eh?" He walked down the dock, hopped on the boat, and in just seconds, the boat could no longer be seen.

Courtney whirled around until she was looking into a camera. "Mom? Are you watching this? Good. I wanted to sacrifice myself so someone eles's kid could live, cause isn't that what you wanted? Well, I'm still alive and I'm going to win so I can look you in the eyes one last time and kill you. Because if all these people," she gestured at the campers, "have to die, well then you can die for them. One more life wouldn't matter, would it?" She left, running towards the cabins.

The red light on the cameras stopped flashing.

* * *

Here endeth the second chapter of The Death Games.

-Pursuit


	3. The Big Sleep

Hey guys here's Chapter 3! Hope you enjoy! (Or not. It's kind of dark.)

* * *

_"What kind of sick, twisted game is this?"_

_-Eva_

Screaming Gophers

Geoff awoke to what sounded like pounding on the roof. He got out of bed, changed, and tip-toed past his sleeping team-mates to investigate. When he got outside he was surprised at what he saw. Bridgette was on top of the roof, hammering down loose shingles with nails. _"What are_ _you doing?"_ he hissed at her.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Bridgette hissed back.

"It looks like you are fixing the roof." Geoff replied, still wondering why exactly she was doing this.

"Good job Sherlock! Now grab a hammer so you can help me." She mumbled through the nails she had in her mouth.

Geoff grabbed a hammer and climbed up the side of the house. "Nail." he said, holding out his hand. Bridgette passed him one. "Thanks." He said. She just kept working.

In a few minutes, DJ came out of the cabin. "What are you doing?" he asked increduosly. The roof had started to well, look like a roof.

"What does it look like we're doing?" Bridgette and Geoff said in unison. "Now grab a hammer and some nails."

DJ did as he was told.

Not long after, the other campers began to wake up to the noise and come out and investigate, only to find Bridgette, Geoff and DJ hammering. They all asked questions similar to Geoff and DJ, all of them asking "What are you doing?" resulting as them being recruited as the latest construction workers.

Naturally Chris, our clever host, heard some banging and came to investigate. Upon seeing the now 99% done roof, he choked and sputtered on his coffee. _"What are you doing?"_ he asked. In perfect unison 10 voices called out, "What does it look like we're doing?"

_Chris Confessional_

_"Wow. If had known they were going to do that, that would have been the first challenge."_

"I just came to tell you that breakfast is ready." Chris said. No answer.

"I JUST CAME TO TELL YOU BREAKFAST IS READY!" Chris shouted. Tyler, who stood up to grab another nail, now fell off the roof.

Chris groaned. "Great now half my campers are becoming insane, and one just probably broke his neck." he muttered to himself. "Breakfast now or ELIMINATION!" he shouted. All the campers (except for Tyler) jumped off the roof and ran. Groaning, Tyler picked himself up and limped off. Chris chuckled.

At the mess hall...

"Where's breakfast?" Owen asked, stomach grumbling.

"Oh you'll get breakfast," Chris said, "but first, come with me!"

"Where are we going?" Heather asked.

"It's a surprise." Chris said. "And not a good one at that."

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.

"Oh you'll see." Chris said, shaking his head. _Poor kids. If only they didn't have to die, I'm becoming sort of attached. But there is a way..._

Chris lead the campers farther into the bush until they were in a small clearing. The only thing that stood out was a cabin, just like the camper's.

"What is this?" Geoff said, cocking his head to one side.

"Our footage- editing booth," Chris said, "but that's not important. What's important is the back wall." Chris led them towards the back of the cabin.

The campers gasped. Staring at them was twenty two versions of themselves, or at least twenty two photographed versions of themselves.

"Wha- what is this?" Courtney asked, her hand reaching for her mouth.

"The Board of Losers." Chris said. "It's a play on Boat of Losers."

"What's the purpose of the board?" Duncan growled.

Chris smiled his usual little scripted smile. "Check it out. Notice how there are twenty two pictures."

Owen counted off the campers. "Hey! There are only twenty one of us!"

Chris smiled cockily. "Now we get to the purpose of the board." Chris reached down his shirt and pulled out a small vial around a chain. "Can anyone tell me what this is?" He said, pointing at the contents of the vial.

Izzy squinted her eyes. "Blood, I think. Whatever it is, it's fresh. A day or two old. It's been refridgerated so it's hard to tell." She said. The contestants stared at her in shock.

"Ahh. Correct, but you missed one thing Izzy."

Her eyes slanted. "What did I miss?"

"The last thing is about the donor. His name was Ezekiel Scott, and was a contestant on this show." Chris splattered the blood over Ezekiel's picture. "This is what happens when you get killed," Chris shouted, "you become an example for the others! The winner will have to look at this board on the very last day. I call out to the winner now, the dead will haunt you!" He chuckled.

"There's a place for people like you," Brigette said shakily, "and it's called hell."

"The devil can not collect a soul that was never there." Chris said quietly. He checked his watch. "Looks like we still have time for the twenty kilometre run around the camp."

"You've got to be freaking kidding me!" Gwen said.

"'Fraid not. Now hurry up before you get dis-qual-i-fied." The campers reluctantly set off.

"Well now that they're off, maybe it's time to hop on the old ATV and chase them around a little." Chris headed off towards the beach. "Now where did I leave that ATV again?"

* * *

20 minutes and an ATV later...

"Pick up the pace people! We don't have all day!" Chris hollered through his infamous megaphone.

"Says the one on the ATV going 1-mile an hour." Noah snickered. Chris made sure to splash him a little as he went by.

"Must slow down..." Owen mumbled. "Must have condition." He collapsed while drinking from a tiny creek.

"It's called over-eating!" Heather called out. "Maybe you should look into to it!"

"What's your excuse?" Leshawna asked her, panting. "You skinny, little, whooh, I'm too tired for insults."

* * *

Later at the Mess Hall

Owen, one of the last campers to arrive at the mess hall, barged in. "He needs help!" he called out, referring to Noah, who he was carrying in his arms. He bagan to do CPR.

Moments later Harold staggered in, clutching his chest screaming about heart palpitations. Suddenly Gwen had an interesting revelation. "Wait. If they lost... that means we won!" She started cheering, and so did her team-mates.

"Hold on cowgirl." Chris said. "You haven't won yet."

"Wait, what?" "Come on man!" "What more do you want from us?"

"Cowgirl?" Gwen asked.

"I've always wanted to say that on TV." Chris replied. "I did promise you breakfast so I'll give you that. Chef, the curtain please."

A grumbling Chef pulled the rope on the curtain. "I have got to find a better job." he muttered. Chris and Chef were the only two people on the island whose dialogue was scripted, at least partially. This added comedy that would otherwise not be on the show and bumped up the ratings.

The campers were far too busy to even notice Chef. There was food, _real_ food, and tons of it. Baked beans, pancakes, donuts, roast beef, stuff you would find at home, if you ever saw home again. The campers descended like hungry wolves, and the spectacular buffet was reduced to spills and crumbs in mere minutes. The campers were bloated but content.

"So who won?" Courtney asked, somewhat confused.

"Yeah, because if it goes by how much we ate, I think we can say Owen won it for his team." Duncan said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Owen, in reply, burped.

"Yeah who won?" Trent asked.

"No one." Chris said, smiling deviously. "At least, not yet. I mean where's the drama in watching you guys run a little and pig out? There is none! So part 3 is even more dramatic, watching you sleep!"

"What's so dramatic about sleeping?" Bridgette asked.

"Nothing!" Chris shouted. "But it's not about sleeping, it's about staying awake." He wiggled his eyebrows. "The rules are simple, the team with the last person standing, or concious at least, wins it. The other team will be sending someone home."

"How long is this going to last?" Lindsay asked.

"Well, you could make it easy on yourselves and go to sleep, or you can stay awake. Your call." Chris shrugged. "Come, follow me." He led them to a small rocky surface.

"Why here?" Heather asked. "Why not just at the campfire?"

"This is one of the farthest clearings from camp." Chris said. "The walk here probably tired you out more." _Really, I picked this clearing because it has the least cameras surrounding it. If the campers want to have private discussions or whatever, they have less chance of being overheard._

"Settle yourselves in!" Chris shouted. "It's going to be a _long_ night."

The campers did just that. Trent sat beside Gwen, Heather pulled aside Lindsay and Beth, Katie and Sadie automatically went to the same spot without even saying anything, and the rest of the campers just spaced themselves out.

"On your marks, get set, begin!" Chris shouted, switching on the timer.

Things progressed slowly. Just as Chris was planning on throwing a rock at someone to knock them out, Owen got up and shouted. "I could do this all day!" He fell over, out.

Over the next twelve hours a couple of contestants slowly drifted off. The campers were now doing anything to stay awake. Justin just stood there since it seemed to be working for him, Chris noted, Heather and company chatted, Trent and Gwen started making lists and Courtney was jogging on the spot.

Chris walked over to her. "You know the jogging's great if you're running a marathon, but if you're trying to stay awake it's not going to work."

Courtney chuckled. "Who cares? At this point if I fall asleep it won't matter. I wasn't the the first person to fall asleep on my team. Unless I say something stupid it won't matter."

"What kind of logic is that?" Chris asked.

"The kind that will keep me alive." Courtney retaliated. Courtney One, Chris Zero.

* * *

Eva was sitting with Izzy. Shocking, I know.

Quiet Eva spoke up. "What kind of sick, twisted game is this?"

"What do you mean?" Izzy asked.

"A game where we're forced to stay on to the death. If you want to be the winner, there has to be no friendships. You can't be attached to _anything. _What's the point? What's the whole damn point of it all?"

"Want to know something?" Izzy said deviously.

"What?" Eva asked.

"The blood... isn't..." Izzy fell asleep. Or at least it _looked_ like she did. She had been studying the rotation patterns of the cameras, and the one across from her was about to record whatever she said.

* * *

Next to them, Trent and Gwen were sitting compiling their lists.

"Favourite book." Gwen said.

"Catcher in the Rye." Trent replied. "Yours?"

"Umm... The Twilight series I guess." Gwen murmured.

"Ah. Tragic love story, nice."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Favourite TV show."

Trent blushed a little. "Don't laugh." He said.

"Fine, I won't." Gwen said, smirking. He glared at her. "Oh, come on, you can trust me.'

"Fine. One Tree Hill."

"No. That's fine." Gwen smiled. "I love that show. At least it's not Gossip Girl or something."

Trent blushed again. "I guess it's a good thing you didn't ask me my second favourite show."

Gwen eyes grew wide. "Are you serious?"

Trent was about to answer when a very large, naked Owen sleepwalked past them.

* * *

"Wow. Justin has been standing there the whole time." Gwen said.

"I know." Trent said, yawning. "Let's go talk to him.'

"Why?" Gwen asked.

"It'll keep us awake. What else can we do?" They walked up to him.

"What concentration!" Gwen marvelled.

"He's very concentrated." Trent said, a little suspicious. "Yip, yip, yip!" Gwen gave him a questioning look, he just held up his hand. Then he poked Justin.

Justin's eyelids fluttered. "Hunh?" He asked groggily, making Gwen and Trent gasp.

"His eyelids are painted I saw it!" Eva called out.

"No way!" Chris shouted. "That's awesome!" He looked at Justin. "You're still out dude."

* * *

As Eva got up and left to the bathroom, her mp3 slipped out of her pocket.

Heather smiled and went to grab it.

"Hey isn't that Ava's?" Lindsay asked.

"Yes." Heather replied.

"Isn't that, like, illegal?"

Heather only smiled.

* * *

Suddenly there was only four left. Then there was three when Eva dozed off and then there was two.

"I can do this all day." Duncan said.

"Whatever." Gwen said, almost asleep.

"Chris." Duncan said. "Going to the bathroom."

Chris nodded. "I hope you don't mind our camera guys going with?"

Duncan sighed. "Fine."

A moment later crackling came over Chris's walkie-talkie. "Uh huh?" "Really?" "Okay." Chris smiled. "Gwen is the winner. Duncan fell asleep on the can."

* * *

Eva was tearing things out of the Bass's cabin. "Where is it?" she yelled.

"What's going on?" Brigette yawned.

"Eva lost her mp3." Courtney said, rolling her eyes.

Eva came storming out of the cabin. "Which one of you has it?" she growled.

Heather came walking into the scene. "Oh thank God I found you Eva!" Heather exclaimed. "Here I found this by the campsite, is it yours?" she said, holding out the stolen mp3.

"Oh thank you!" Eva exclaimed.

Heather walked away smiling_. No, thank you_.

* * *

Everybody's name was called, until it was Eva and Harold who were left.

"Campers! This is the final marshmallow of the evening." Chris said, loudly. There was a pause, and then Chris said, "Harold." Harold grinned, and picked up his marshmallow. "Eva," Chris said, "the Dock of Shame awaits."

Eva got ticked. "Nice! Really nice! Who needs this stupid game, anyway?!" Then she walked towards the dock, stopping to kick Chris in the shin.

Just as she was at the dock, Courtney called out, "Bye-bye, Eva!"

This proceeded to piss Eva off, and she threw a stick at her as hard as she could.

"Touchy!" Courtney said, surprised.

* * *

Courtney sat reading on the cabin steps, long after the cameras were turned off.

_That stick almost hit me. Crap._

She was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. Izzy.

Courtney studied her and went back to her book. "You know, you're what my mom calls an 'analyzer'. You're very observant."

Izzy chuckled. "I've been called worse, CIT girl." She turned serious. "I came to tell you what I meant to tell Eva. The blood isn't really blood."

Courtney cocked her head. "So it's fake?"

Izzy nodded. "Faker than processed chesse."

"How do you-?"

"I was right about it being refrigerated. That's what threw me off. The amount of sugar crystals in the liquid looked and acted like frost, preserving it."

"Couldn't that have been sugar in his blood?"

"Not unless our boy Ezekiel was eating close to 50 chocolate bars at the time of his death."

"So what _is_ it?"

"A mixture of equals parts sugar and cranberry juice. Remember when you had to wear the chicken blood?" Izzy posed.

"How could I forget?" Courtney scoffed.

"Those weren't mosquitoes, they were the Russian Vampire flys. Must have been imported because they bear the closest resemblance to mosquitoes in the world. They have a fondness for cranberries." Izzy laughed. "The blood's fake." She started to walk away.

"What does it all mean?" Courtney called out to her.

"That they're not killing them, at least, not _yet _CIT_._"

"What's with the nickname?" Courtney asked her.

"Hmmm?" Izzy asked.

"CIT."

Izzy turned around. "Oh, that's not a nickname." She walked away chuckling.

* * *

So it begins.....

Pursuit


	4. Dodge Brawl

Hey guys... just to let you know I didn't completely forget this story, here's Chapter 4.

Pursuit

Disclaimer: (I always forget these!) I do not own the characters or anything related to Total Drama Island, I do own the plot, although some have speculated that I stole it from the Hunger Games. Not at all, considering I hadn't read the book at the start of this story, and I had already had it all planned out. (Kinda funny how it's very similar though...)

* * *

_"Like I said, sports, not my forte."_

_-Noah_

All was calm. All was peaceful. All was-

"Good morning campers! Get your lazy butts to the mess hall to avoid facing certain death! Over and out, Chris."

All was screaming as loud as they could into a megaphone.

Gwen groaned. As if it wasn't bad enough she hadn't slept for the last three days, now the pyscho host was waking her up two hours earlier than he needed to be. Great, just great.

She tried to roll out of bed. Easier said than done. Instead she opted for ten more minutes of sleep than showering. Besides, she had had one last night. Maybe.

* * *

**Mess Hall**

**Killer Bass**

Chris strolled in perkily, sipping his seventh cup of coffee that day. What? It's not like he got any sleep while the contestants were battling it out. Besides, what Courtney had said to him was still running through his head. She had told him that her logic would keep her alive. He almost felt sorry for her. Between brawn like DJ, brains like Noah, cunning like Heather and wit like Duncan, she didn't stand much of a chance. Poor kid, she was like him in many ways. A little sadistic, sort of remorseful, very vengeful and fighting this as much as he was.

He once again put on his cheerful facade. "Duncan, you look like crap dude!"

"Stuff it." Duncan mumbled back.

Funny, Duncan reminded him of himself too. His _I don't care _and_ I don't think I'm better than you, I know I'm_ _better_ _than you _attitudes were a lot like him in his younger days. In fact, all the campers were a lot like Chris. Beth, Ezekiel and Harold were reminiscent of his awkward Jr. High phase, he struggled with his weight like Owen but he was more anorexic like Lindsay, he was cunning like Heather (or so he liked to think), he came from a ghetto neighbourhood like Leshawna, he played football like DJ, surfed like Bridgette and Geoff, was in love once like Trent and Gwen and much more.

Courtney brought him out of his reverie. "Harold snored _all_ night." Funny how snoring seemed so trivial now to Chris.

"How much are you _hurting_, dude?" Chris said, directed at Duncan.

Duncan raised a fist. "Want to find out?"

"No, no, it's cool." Chris said, backing away. He did this more out of the benefit of the other Killer Bass, who had all madly scrambled under the table when Duncan spoke.

Suddenly, Harold entered. Just as he was about to give him flak for being late, he saw the Sharpie mustache and thought the better of it. Even though these teenagers were faced with certain death, they were still just teenagers, quick to insult and laugh. Besides, he had to remember **Rule 47 of The Geek Code: **Geeks former and present alike, must stick up for one another. (Ex. lending nasal and foot sprays when needed.)

**Screaming Gophers**

Chris paused to walk over to the Gopher's side, and in excellent timing too.

"Everyone, Gwen has arrived!" He announced.

The Screaming Gophers, bless their little hearts (Oh god, now he was sounding like his mother), all started to clap.

"Why are we clapping?" Linday asked Justin, who (surprise, surprise) didn't answer back.

The Gophers (except for Courtney) were unresponsive. Courtney seemed to be glaring at somenthing. He thought it might have been Gwen, but it looked like she was glaring more at Lindsay.

Maybe she found Lindsay stupid, or maybe she was glaring at her question, or maybe she was protective of Gwen. Why not? Although the two seemed totally different on the outside, they were actually very similar. The were both loners, in their own rights, choosing to acknowledge a select few. For Gwen it was Trent and Leshawna, for Courtney it was Bridgette and Duncan (mostly to annoy or to be annoyed by) and sometimes Sadie and Katie (but she rolled her eyes a lot around them so he wasn't sure they counted.) They were both smart for their ages and a little more mature than the others here.

He turned to the other Gophers. He saw Beth and Lindsay talking to (or being threatened by) Heather. Every so often he could hear the word _alliance _being tossed around. He had to hand it to Heather, that was pretty clever of her. Picking the two most likely to do whatever she said to be her minions.

Justin...what the hell went through that kid's head? He was exceptionally quiet. He wondered if this was because he wasn't very smart, but he remembered the last challenge where he had cleverly painted his eyelids. Maybe he had already given up.

Courtney felt something unfamiliar wash over her. You and I refer to it as dread.

_Courtney Confessional_

_We are so sucking right now! Yes, Eva was a psycho, but at least she was an athletic psycho!_

Heather smirked. "Wanna have some fun?"

Beth and Lindsay nodded slowly, not seeing where this was going.

Heather stood up. "Hey fish heads! Way to kick off your strongest player." She dodged the incoming slop, making it hit Gwen. "Missed me."

This left Courtney very pissed off, still holding her spoon, sad it had hit Heather and not Gwen.

Chris saw this as a natural point to intervene, not wanting to start a fight. "Okay, campers! Your next challenge starts in ten minutes, and be prepared to _bring_ it_!_"_ And try not to kill each other_.

* * *

Chris led them to some sort of makeshift arena by the water, which can only be described as a huge fish tank with a floor like a gym and stands.

Duncan was the last person on either team to walk in. He promptly collapsed on the Killer Bass stands saying, "Wake me up, and it will be the last thing you do." The effort of saying this apparently caused him to pass out.

Tyler gulped, and Chris didn't blame him. Duncan meant business.

Courtney (the only person who didn't fear Duncan) rolled her eyes and yelled something at Harold.

To Harold's credit, he yelled back.

Chef blew his whistle, walking across the gym, shaking his head in (mock) disgust.

"Today's challenge," Chris said, "is the classic game of dodgeball."

Everybody groaned. "Really Chris?" Gwen asked. "We're fighting to the death here and think we should play _dodgeball_?"

Chris sighed. "Look, I don't come up with any of this. The powers that be do."

Nobody really understood what he was talking about, so they figured they might as well humour him. "Okay," Geoff said, "we'll play dodgeball."

Chris had to fight back the urge to punch him in the face and said, _'There is no choice! What do you not understand?', _instead he said, "Wonderful. Now the first rule of dodge ball is-"

"Do not talk about dodge ball?" Noah said, snickering with Owen.

Chris rolled his eyes. "Fight Club reference, nice." He sighed. "No the rules are..." He continued on to discuss the rules, which are not extremely important right now, to the campers.

"Got it?" He questioned. When everyone nodded he said, "Good. Now Gophers, you'll have to sit one extra player out each round." (Which in, all honesty, does not make much sense because only five players went up on the court at a time anyway.)

"Ready?" He asked. A weak reply was heard. "Go out there and dodge!"

The Bass lost the first round, which Chris thought was due to Tyler's suckish performance.

The second round, however, is much more interesting to talk about.

On the stands on the Killer Bass side, before the second round started, Heather had yelled at Noah for 'not doing his part.'

"Sports. Not my forte." He had said. (Which made Chris want to yell, "No, but that is!")

She actually growled at him. "Look Noah, it doesn't matter that we're winning. You have to prove you're a team player."

He sighed. "Fine, I'll play. Happy?" She nodded.

He walked on to the court. "Let the round begin!" Chris shouted.

Noah picked up a ball that he had dodged and frowned at it, as if debating whether or not to throw it or not. He finally, after about two of dodging, threw it.

Chris had never seen somebody go down as hard as Tyler had when the ball hit him square in the face. What was Noah talking about? He was a natural! He then proceeded to bring down every other person on the Bass team.

Chris brought his megaphone to his mouth, "Round Two to Noah-er- the Gophers!"

The Gophers and Bass (sans Duncan) were too stunned to react.

Noah sighed, rolled the ball away from him, and made his way to the stands. When he got there he looked at every one of his team mates. "Like I said, sports, not my forte."

Chris shook himself out of the daze he was still in. _Who would have thought that Noah...?_

He shook his head. _Don't underestimate your campers Chris, they'll be your undoing. _He nervously thought. _Dust to dust, ashes to ashes and to dust you shall return!_

* * *

**The Killer Bass**

The Killer Bass (well, Courtney) had come up with a new strategy. It involved a long stick and Duncan's face.

When Duncan reacted he did not looked happy, and showed this by snapping the stick. He turned to Harold. "What _is_ your problem?" He asked.

Courtney intervened. "Look we're losing, and we wouldn't have interupted your _beauty sleep_ if we didn't need your help."

Duncan rolled his eyes. "And why should I help you darling?" He asked, teasingly.

This didn't faze Courtney. "Because if you don't, I personally will make sure you get eliminated, _darling_."

He sighed. "Okay, as long as I get full control." She nodded. "Okay, here's a strategy I picked up from juvie, it's called _Crush the New Guy_."

* * *

Chris pulled his megaphone to his mouth. "Round Three."

Both team's players went to go onto court, that is, until Noah fell down.

"What's up? Owen asked him.

Noah shrugged, and went to stand up, only to fall back down. He sighed. "I have diseased bones in my knees. Nothing big, but it starts to hurt when you apply pressure, that's why I don't do sports."

Owen shrugged. "Well not much you can do about that." He chuckled lightly. "We'll send someone out for you."

Noah nodded. "Thanks." He suddenly got a mischeivious smile on his face. "Go team! Throw those murder balls!" He was being 100% sincere.

Both teams walked onto the court and Chef blew his whistle, signalling to begin.

The Bass, Chris had to say, really pulled themselves together. They had dodged every ball that came at them easily, had knocked out every player on the other, and won their first round.

Chris nodded and smiled. He knew that some poor, innocent kid out there was lapping up the dramatic tension, unaware the campers really were fighting to the death. He shuddered. The Organization of 22 had made sure that the kids who watched thought it was a simple tv show. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Killer Bass celebrated their win, while Noah pep-talked to his side "C'mon! You can do it!" "We're still winning!" "You guys are doing great!", until Heather told him to shut up.

"Round Four!" Chris announced.

Round Four was eerily similar to the previous round, as if the host was having a deja vu moment. The camera footage proved his deja vu to be false.

The Killer Bass had used the same tactic again, and the Gophers had some how fallen for it. Chris rolled his eyes. The Gophers sure did not take losing well.

The only difference seemed to be on the stands. Tyler and Courtney were argueing (Was it just him, or was that girl always picking a fight?) about something... ahh! Lindsay! He wondered for a second if Courtney was jealous, and then realised she had Duncan. The thought made him laugh. Chef, after the round was over, walked over and asked what he was laughing about. Chris told him and Chef scowled. "Incredibly stupid to fall in love now." He said, but made a bet with Chris about when the would get together. Chris said soon, while Chef vouched for later in the competition.

Round Five was tricky to explain.

It was a whole tangled mess of subbing off players (which Chris couldn't remember being in the rules), and players going down back and forth. He walked over to Chef. "What's with all the substitutions?" He asked.

Chef shrugged. "_They_ called. _They_ want it so that it's a two-person showdown." Chris didn't have to ask who _they _were.

_They_ got their wish a few minutes later when two players (he thought one might have been DJ) simultaneously knocked each other out. Suddenly it was just Harold and Owen. Chris winced. Like he said before, Harold reminded him of his geekier side and he knew, that if Owen won it, Harold would be going home.

Owen said something that sounded like, "Nothing personal." (Chris was too busy puking in his mouth.) He then threw the ball, full-speed, at Harold, Harold, in some sort of Matrix miracle, dodged it. Courtney called a time out.

"That was amazing!" Geoff said. "How'd you learn to do that?"

"Figure skating." Harold admitted.

Courtney nodded. "To win you'll either have to hit Owen-"

"Which we all know you can't do." Duncan added.

Courtney took the liberty of ignoring him. "Or dodge the ball. Think you can do it?" Harold nodded confidently, and walked onto the court. The Killer Bass took up a cheer of, "Harold, Harold!" While the Gopher's side was pretty much silent, except for when Heather screamed, "Don't mess this up, tubby!"

Owen nodded, took a deep breath, and threw. The ball sent Harold flying into the glass, all crumpled up. Both teams strained to see what happened until... Harold held up the ball. The Bass's cheer echoed off the otherwise silent stadium.

"No!"Owen cried, falling to his knees.

Chris laughed. "Well, the Gophers have finally lost a challenge. See you at the campfire."

* * *

Later that evening, Chris found himself and the Gophers at the campfire.

He said some mindless speech about what it means to get a marshmallow. Then he actually went to hand them out.

_Heather Confessional_

_I vote for tubby. I told him not to screw up!_

_Izzy Confessional_

_I vote for Heather, mostly cause I didn't know who to vote for, plus she's a total **(censored)**! So, yeah._

_Owen Confessional_

_**(Listening to Screamo music, in fetal postion)** I don't deserve to live. I let my team down._

"So although the votes were pretty varied," Chris said, "it was still clear who was getting voted off."

He went through the votes until it was just Heather, Owen, Noah and Justin. "Heather." He said. "Owen." He soon called after. "So, Justin, Noah, one of you will be going home tonight." He picked the marshmallow up. "Noah. You're safe. Justin I'm sorry but-"

"I know the drill." He said, walking towards the Dock of Shame.

_Noah Confessional_

_I vote for Justin**. (Turns off Confession Cam)**_ He sighed. "Because he asked me to."

* * *

**Much Later That Night**

Duncan sat in the stadium stands, just thinking.

Courtney walked in. "What are you doing? Challenge is over."

Duncan shook his head. "Just thinking. What are you doing here?"

Courtney sighed. "Everyone was celebrating and didn't seem-"

"Right?" He asked.

She nodded. "It seemed instead of celebrating winning, we were celebrating Justin's death." She chuckled dryly. "Of course, now you probably think I'm weak."

Duncan shook his head. "Not really. That's what I was thinking about." He laughed. "I almost liked it better when we lost. No celebrating."

She laughed, too. "Exactly. Half the time I'm torn between being okay with getting sent-" she paused, "away, and the other time I'm scared to die."

Duncan paused. "You know, this isn't how I thought it would end, being on some crazy reality show. I figured I would be shot in some gang fight."

Courtney shook her head. "I was hoping I would die old, and in my sleep. I have a feeling that even if I win, I'm not going to live very long."

He nodded. "So everybody's celebrating?" He asked.

"Not much of a celebration. Geoff's practically the only thing that's keeping it together. That guy has a knack for making people feel better." She said. "You coming?"

He shook his head. "I don't think I can. Makes it real." She nodded and turned to leave. "You know," he called to her, "Heather's not the only one that can have an alliance."

She froze. "You want me in your- alliance?" She asked increduously.

He nodded. "Just don't go telling everyone about it, okay? I don't want the guys finding out I chose the weakest player for my alliance." He teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." She said, leaving.

For the first time in weeks, Duncan smiled.

With that, all the red flashing camera lights went out, signalling the end of the day.

* * *

So Duncan and Courtney have an alliance. Scratch that, a secret alliance! How not... obvious. (Now I'm beating myself up for being a predictable writer.)

How did you feel about about Justin getting da boot instead of Noah? That was my little experiment to see if you guys were against me straying from can-on. I made sure to make it Noah and Justin, so if you guys are opposed to it, I can switch it back to normal. In your review leave whether you like it or not.

And when Noah says _"Sports. Not my forte."_ for the first time, and Chris almost shouts _"No, but that is!",_ it's a reference to those Kia commercials. Cheesy, I know, but when I first saw one of those commercials I thought of Noah immediately.

-Pursuit (If you're currently wondering why I always mention the camera flashes, I consider my way of telling you what's filmed and what's not.)


	5. Not Quite Famous

So, here it is, the fifth installment of The Death Games. I'm so totally doing my weird happy dance right now! So anyways here it is.

Yeah, since I usually follow the plot line the best I can for that episode, I included Gwen and Lindsay's intro almost in full.

Oh yeah, Chris's thought are the _italics. _(Most of the time.)

Disclaimer: I do not own. Dun, dun, dun!

* * *

**Chapter Five: Not Quite Famous**

_"So... who here plays guitar?"_

_-Trent_

* * *

**The Screaming Gophers**

"Ohmigosh!" Lindsay exclaimed, waking Gwen up. "I'm out of fake tanner _already_!"

"How tragic, Lindsay." Gwen commented sarcastically, sitting up.

"I know, right? Now I'll have suntan in the actual sun! Do you realize how shriveled and wrinkly that can make your skin?" She peered at Gwen. "Oh, you do!"

Gwen groaned. Was it too much to want to kill her now? It could spare the job of whoever the assassin was.

"Okay Campers!" Chris yelled over the intercom system. "Enough beauty sleep! Time to show us what you're made of!"

* * *

**(At the Auditorium)**

"Oh, are we going to see a musical?" Lindsay gushed. "I love musicals! Especially the ones with singing and dancing!"

Noah scoffed. "In case you haven't noticed, this isn't Broadway."

Izzy smiled. "I went to go see a play on Broadway once! My aunt took me to see Wicked and, like, everything went wrong! First one of the harnesses broke while it was lifting someone above the stage, and then one of the lights spontaneously combusted, and one of the actors had a heart attack! And then-"

Noah rolled his eyes. "Izzy?"

"Yes?"

"Shut it."

"Aye, aye Captain Grumpy-pants!"

"Wait, what?"

Meanwhile, Trent waved Gwen over. "Gwen! I saved you a seat!" He said.

"Thanks." She replied shyly, sitting down.

This didn't go un-noticed by Heather, who glared_. _

_Uh oh!_ _I've learned that that glare means trouble for anyone at the receiving end. Run Gwen! Run away on your skinny, often unused, chicken legs! Run!_

Lindsay blew a kiss at Tyler, who waved back, and grinned sheepishly at Heather. Heather hmmphed, and snapped her head around, hitting poor Lindsay in the face with her ponytail.

_Oh._ _Maybe she's... jealous?_

"Okay!" Chris said, commanding the attention to the stage. "Today's challenge is a summer camp favourite. A talent competition!"

"Yes! Awesome!" Owen shouted.

Chris continued. "Each team gets eight hours to pick the three most talented campers they have. Sing, dance, juggle! Anything goes, as long as it's legal." He glared pointedly at Duncan, who snapped as if to say 'damn'. "Your acts will be judged by Grand Master Chef, who will be judging you on his chef-o-meter. The team that loses will send one camper home tonight! And... begin!" _Now what will my little campers come up with today?_

_

* * *

_

**The Screaming Gophers**

Heather blew into her whistle. _Where did she get that from? Did she pack it? _"Okay, I'm team captain, so here's how it goes!"

"Wait, who said you were team captain?" Gwen asked.

"She did." Lindsay said. "Just now!"

Trent walked onto the scene, handing Gwen a muffin.

Heather glared at this, but it didn't stop her from asking, "Trent... you're okay with me being captain, right?"

"Sure." He said. "I don't care."

"Okay..." she said, "Lindsay, Beth and I are the judges. We decide who gets in or not."

* * *

**The Killer Bass**

If Chris had his way, he would have immediately made the Bass the winners. He shuddered. Poor guys had to watch Katie and Sadie dance... if you could call it that.

By the looks on the Bass's faces, it was pretty obvious Sadie and Katie were not competing for them_. Thank god._

* * *

**The Screaming Gophers**

Owen was busy chugging two litres of pop. _Once again, where did these campers keep getting these random objects?_

"Are you going to audition?" Trent asked Gwen. _Oh just admit you're love with her already!_

She shook her head. "Not likely." She said, making Trent frown. "You should be, though. I heard you the other night by the dock... you were really good." She said, smiling and blushing.

_Oh gag me with a spoon!_

Owen finished chugging and and burped the alphabet.

The guys jumped up and congratulated him. "That was awesome!" Trent said.

Heather turned up her nose and said, "Ew! No way!", meaning Owen would not be competing.

**The Killer Bass**

The Killer Bass still seemed to be out of luck as Tyler showed off his talent: yo-yo-ing.

Chris walked by as Tyler majorly failed. "Man, that is weak!" He said, grimacing.

_Poor, poor little Killer Bass. Looks like you might be fish bait tonight!_

**The Screaming Gophers**

Heather showed off her skill in ballet and was awarded with appreciative clapping.

Lindsay and Beth automatically made her a competitor, which Heather exclaimed, "Oh, you're too kind!" to, in fake modesty.

"Take five everyone!" She called out. When everyone started to walk away she pulled Lindsay back. "Can you keep a secret?" She asked.

"Oh of course!" Lindsay exclaimed, and then prattled on about something involving her sister, Heather came back into focus when she finished with, "Oh, sorry Paula!"

"Gwen's up to something," Heather said, shoving a walkie-talkie into the blond minion's hand. "I want you to go follow her, got that?"

Lindsay nodded. She took after Gwen, watching her for awhile, until something (or someone) more interesting crossed her path.

**The Killer Bass**

DJ was finally accepted as the first competitor for the Killer Bass after he showed off his amazing ribbon-dancing skills.

Courtney, pissed about something (as usual), nodded and said, "Fine, sign him up. Next!"

"Ooh, me!" Bridgette exclaimed. "I can stand on my hands for twenty minutes!" She said, proudly. "Watch!"

Courtney called next again, saying the talent wasn't quite what they were looking for. Harold stood up and opened his mouth. "Next!" She called again.

_Harsh._

**The Screaming Gophers**

"Come in, Lindsay!" Heather called over the walkie-talkie. "Where are you? Over."

The answer to Heather's question would be any of the following 1) Far away from Gwen, not doing what she was supposed too, 2) In the communal washrooms or 3) Making out with Tyler.

Tyler handed her the walkie-talkie when she grabbed for it and missed. "Uh, I'm on my way! Under!"

**The Killer Bass**

Geoff marked the Bass's final competing contestant.

"So I guess it's DJ's ribbon thing, Geoff's skateboarding and your violin solo." Bridgette said to Courtney.

_Wait, Courtney's a competitor too? How the hell did our cameras miss that?_

"Sweet! I'm going to be on TV, man!" Geoff said.

_Given the circumstances, I wouldn't call it "sweet"._

"You're already on TV, Geoff." Bridgette said.

"Oh right!" He exclaimed. "Hello out there dudes!" He said into the camera.

_Um, right. _

**The Screaming Gophers**

"I call this... the dance of the rattlesnake." Izzy said, swaying her hips hypnotically.

It was never quite clear if Izzy made it, but judging from the look on Heather's face, it was safe to say she hadn't.

Heather then wowed the team with her ballet dance, with a round of applause and Beth and Lindsay automatically vouching for her. Needless to say, she made it in.

_Big surprise there._

Beth then showed off her pretty darn good fire baton talents. Until it became very obvious that she couldn't exactly catch them which, as all professional jugglers know, is the important part of the act.

"Noah!" Heather began shakily after the ground was put out, "Your turn!"

Noah sighed, obviously not feeling the whole talent show thing, and walked up to a chalkboard. "My talent... is explaining the Theory of Relativity. Now you see," he said, moving the chalk rapidly across the board, " the theory of relativity explores the significance of General Relativity and Special Relativity. Most of you have heard of E=MC2, I hope?"

There was some nodding. Heather rolled her eyes. "Noah, unless you want to re-label your talent sleep inducer, get out of here!"

Noah chuckled under his breath. "Excellent."

"What was that?" Heather snapped.

"What?" Noah asked, feigning innocence.

Heather frowned. "Oh, nothing."

Noah grinned and headed out into the woods. Unknown to him, he was being followed there.

_Dun, dun, dun!_

Uh, yeah. Anyways, about ten minutes later, Gwen and Cody were walking back to the Girl's cabin, apparently arguing.

Gwen then slammed the door on Cody. (Which he tried he tried to peer through.)

She walked out, dressed in her bathing suit (_Quick change artist, much?_), announcing "I'm going for a swim."

"Wait!" Trent called out. "I'll go with you!"

"Sure!" She exclaimed happily. Realizing she had broken her "Like I Care" disguise, she said, " I mean, whatever."

Trent looked at her oddly. _I don't blame you dude. We all know she likes you._

Lindsay got up, as if she was going for a swim as well. Heather, however, had other plans. "You stay here," she said, "we have a diary to find."

**The Killer Bass**

The Killer Bass meanwhile were hanging out by the stage, playing cards and listening to Courtney practice her violin. Which, was actually very good.

Geoff, playing with his skateboard wheels, asked Bridgette, "So can you really stand on your hands for twenty minutes?"

"Wanna bet?" She said coyly, waving a chocolate bar back and forth.

_If I didn't know better, I'd say she was flirting with him!_

"You're on!" He exclaimed. Harold, DJ and Duncan also nodded in agreement.

Bridgette smirked. "Ante up!"

The boys of the Killer Bass dropped coins into a pile, proving that they doubted Bridgette's abilities. "Okay," She said, signalling Duncan, who began his watch, "Twenty minutes... now!" she exclaimed, springing into to handstand mode. She walked by Courtney, who looked up curiously, causing the boys to laugh. She walked a few more steps and accidentally got caught on one of the ropes dangling from the ceiling. She walked back towards the other side hoping to untangle the rope, which she did.

As a result, the light the rope was attached to came crashing down on Courtney.

Everyone winced. _That's gotta hurt!_

"Oh crap!" Bridgette exclaimed, noticing the broken violin.

"What?" Courtney asked groggily, from where she was sprawled on the ground. She noticed the broken violin, opened her mouth to scream, and then shut it. She closed her eyes, letting a few tears escape.

"Um." Duncan began, clearing his throat. "I guess someone should take her to the Medical Tent." No one moved. "Fine, I'll do it." He said, picking up Courtney (who seemingly had a twisted ankle) and headed towards the infirmary.

"Are you okay?" He asked sincerely, once they were out of hearing distance.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, idiot! Now put me down!"

He dropped her, ignoring her 'Oww!', "Then what was this whole crying and twisted ankle business?" He asked.

"Well, I had to make it seem like I was hurt!" She said.

"Why?" He asked, groaning.

"So we had an excuse to leave." She replied, in a 'duh' sort of tone.

"Again, why?"

"I want Izzy in our alliance." She said, picking herself off the ground, limping a little. "It's not up for discussion." She said, in response to Duncan's groaning.

"Because?" He asked.

"She told me some... interesting facts about the competitors earlier." She said. "I'll tell you later." She whispered.

He nodded, and there was quiet for a while as they walked through the forest. "I was really worried about you."

"Really?" She asked, sort of blushing.

He grinned. "Yeah. I don't want a cripple in my alliance."

She groaned. "Duncan... we were having a nice moment!"

He shrugged. "Yeah, well, don't get used to it. I don't 'do' nice."

Only Chris noticed that Duncan stared at Courtney's ankle to make sure it was okay, when she wasn't looking. _I sense a beautiful alliance-ship in the making._

**The Screaming Gophers**

Noah, meanwhile, was walking through the _opposite _part of the woods. He was humming lightly to himself (the words being: _Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium_... and so on) when he heard a few branches crack, but ignored it.

It was about two minutes later that Noah was finally jumped. "Gotcha!" His attacker yelled.

Noah rolled his eyes, clearly not amused. "_Izzy_..." he whined.

She rolled of of him. "Yes, Captain Grumpy-pants?" She asked, innocently.

Noah seethed. "First of all, stop calling me that. Secondly, you don't just tackle people whenever you feel like it!"

"Well excuse me for living! Captain..." She trailed off at the murderous look on his face. "Noah... Captain Noah."

"That's better." He fumed.

Izzy smiled. "Yeah! No more Grumpy pants!" She exclaimed. "So..." She said, grabbing his hand.

Noah's eyes blew open in shock. "Umm... Izzy?"

"Yes?" She replied.

"Your hand.. is touching _my _hand... the personal space bubble is popped... why?" He mumbled, twitching.

"Can't friends hold hands?" Izzy asked. "Now come on, I have a hunch you're going the wrong way." She said, dragging him in the other direction.

_Poor, poor, Noah. Didn't even see it coming._

Back at the cabins, Lindsay and Heather were gathered on the porch. "You stand guard, 'kay?" Heather said.

Lindsay nodded. Time to redeem herself.

Chris chuckled. _Poor Lindsay, she's only a pawn._

Meanwhile, Gwen and Trent (The Gophers seem to be the main focus of this episode) were having a heart-to-heart.

"Sometimes I feel like I have to get away from everyone, you know? They're all driving me crazy." She blushed. "Well almost all of them."

Chris gulped nervously. _This isn't good, man! This wasn't supposed to be a romance! Why date the dude if he's going to die? Or if you're going to die? Idiots!_

Their moment was ruined when Owen and Cody decided this would be a good time to cannonball off the dock, where Gwen and Trent were sitting.

_Thank god! I was worried about romantic development! Praise be the lord! Woohoo! _Chris's happy dance was ruined when Geoff came up behind him. "Um... What up man?" Chirs stopped. "Nothing..."

Heather was still looking for Gwen's diary. "Where is it?" She whined. "If I were a pasty goth being where would I hide my diary?"

Lindsay sat on the front steps, playing with her hair. "Hey Gwen!" She called casually as the aforementioned goth girl stormed up the steps. "Oh Gwen! It's you! Hi!" She called out so Heather could hear.

Inside the cabin Heather gasped. "What are doing outside the cabin?" Lindsay called out again.

"Trying to get inside the cabin?" Gwen said sarcastically.

"Oh!" Lindsay said. "You're trying to get inside the cabin!"

Heather smirked triumphantly as she found the diary, and began flipping through it.

Gwen, reaching her stress limit with Lindsay, pushed past her into the cabin. She stared around suspiciously. "What going on here?"

"Just resting before the big show!" Heather said, faking a yawn. "God are you always so paranoid?" She left with the pocketed diary.

_This can't be good._

**The Killer Bass... and The Screaming Gophers... The alliance part anyway**

"Izzy's got to be around here somewhere..." Courtney muttered to herself.

Duncan rolled his eyes. "We've been looking for her for an hour. I don't think it takes that long to supposedly fix you up in the medical tent, people are probably wondering where we are." (Truth be told, they weren't. None of them knew how to treat a sprained ankle or concussion, they had no idea how long it took.)

"Oh be quiet, Duncan!" Courtney hissed. "She's around here somewhere..."

Right on cue Izzy came out of the woods from the other direction, still pulling a twitching Noah. "I knew I'd find you here!" She exclaimed.

Courtney smiled. "Analysis?"

Izzy nodded. "I could hear the twigs snap a couple miles back. Someone was limping."

"Courtney." Duncan said. He glared at Courtney. "Does_ that_ have to be in our alliance too?" He said, gesturing toward Noah.

"Ooh! An alliance! Can I be in it? Please, please, please, please, please? I know how to light things on fire, and make shelter and..." Izzy said, rambling at the speed of light.

Courtney, overwhelmed, nodded. Izzy squealed in delight. "Can Noah be in it too?" Courtney, ignoring Duncan's frantic shaking head, nodded yes.

Duncan groaned as Izzy squealed. "He's actually pretty good," She said, dropping Noah's hand. "He just doesn't like to be touched."

Noah snapped into to focus, accidentally slapping Courtney in the process (causing Duncan to growl under his breath), "What happened?"

Izzy smiled. "We're in an alliance!" She replied hugging him. Noah immediately stiffened.

"Looks like someone has never had a girlfriend before." Duncan said, snickering.

Courtney rolled her eyes at the dysfunctional group. "Come on Duncan," she said, grabbing him by the sleeve, "we have to get going."

The group parted their ways, smirking. There was something exciting about being in a secret alliance. One of the groups member's had an alterior motive, they knew that somewhere along the way, they would have to slice particular group member's neck.

This, however odd this may sound, brought them extreme comfort. They chuckled.

**Challenge Time! (Note the enthusiastic exclamation mark!)**

Bridgette sat on the edge of the stage, munching on potato chips. "We'll be fine. So what if my talent's not a good as your violin playing? We'll be fine."

"Hey Bridgette," Heather called. "Too bad about your little _accident_." She said, looking at Courtney's bandaged head and ankle. "Looks like your get your fifteen seconds of fame."

Bridgette glared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" She said, defensively.

"Oh nothing." Heather said. "I'm sure you weren't _trying_ to sabotage your own team-mate... unless you felt threatened."

Bridgette glared, losing her temper. "Maybe that's how you Gopher's operate, but the Killer Bass are a team!"

"Whatever. I guess you'll go down as a team too. Easy on the chips," she called, "you wouldn't want to sink that surfboard." She then got a face full of chips.

Chris then took the stage. "Welcome to the first ever Camp Wawanakwa talent competition!" _And the last. _"Where six campers will show their talents while competing for points on the chef-o-meter. Screaming Gophers are up first!"

Heather started off performing some piece from Swan River or whatever. Chris wasn't much of a ballet guy. Luckily for Heather, Chef was, causing her to score seven points on the scale.

DJ then took the stage for his team, performing a flawless ribbon dance, until his ribbon somehow ended up wrapped around his feet. He only scored two points on the scale.

_This isn't looking good for the Bass. One more mess up like that and we might as well order a side of chips with our fish._

Trent was next. He sang (surprise, surprise) a song while (surprise, surprise) playing on his guitar. His performance went very well, causing him to also score seven points.

"Three down and three to go." Chris said, after literally pushing Trent off the stage. _What, kid was hogging my light! _"And so far, the Killer Bass are sucking! Let's hear it for Bridgette!"

"Are you sure you can do this?" Courtney asked, as Bridgette bit her nails nervously.

"Definitely!" She replied. "Of course!" She walked onto the stage with her hands. Unfortunately the rule 'What goes down must come up' had a heyday, and soon the stage (and audience) was covered in barf (and it wasn't just Bridgette's).

"Well," Chris said, tiptoe-ing onto the stage. "We'll just take a short break while we hose the joint down." Five minutes later he walked back on stage. "Welcome back!" He exclaimed. "In a surprise to us all, Bridgette's talent actually scored a decent five points. Unfortunately," he said, gravely, "they'll need more than that to win."

Noah then took the stage, explaining the Theory of Relativity. Labelled as Science, is scored two points. When Heather renamed the act, "Sleep Inducer", it received five points.

_Sometimes it's all in the marketing. _

Geoff was scheduled as next. He was practicing backstage when, with a sickening_ CRUNCH!_, it snapped in two.

"Now what are we going to to do?" Bridgette exclaimed, grabbing Courtney by the shoulders and shaking her.

"Katie and Sadie are out... they're covered in barf!" Courtney said.

"That's leaves Tyler, Duncan and Harold." Bridgette said, listing them on her fingers. "We know Tyler sucks... what can Duncan do again?"

"I don't know!" Courtney xclaimed. "Something illegal? That leaves... _Harold_."

They dragged him on stage. He stared at them nervously. "Well... go!" Courtney called from behind the curtain."

Harold... turned out to be... wait for it... a.... wait for it... beat-boxing pro. Everyone was stunned into silence, before cheering.

"Wicked beat-boxing dude." Chris said, walking on stage. "Check it out, Grand Master Chef has declared his winner. Even though they lost in overall points, they were the only team to score a perfect ten. The winner's are... the Killer Bass!"

Both teams exited the stage area. Heather smirked. "Not so fast everyone!" She called out. "You haven't seen the best act of the day!" She whipped out Gwen's diary, and began readding from it. _"I know it's probably not a good idea to have a crush on someone at camp," _Heather read, _"but I can't help it. He's been so nice to me the whole time we've been here, and he's one of the true friends I have. He's incredibly talented (but he doesn't know it) I heard him play guitar the other day, he's really good. I think I might-"_

Heather was interrupted as Gwen ripped the book away from her. "How could you?" She said, shakily. "This is low... even for you." She took off running.

Everyone shook their heads. Poor Gwen.

Trent spoke up first. "So... who here plays guitar?" Everyone groaned. "What?"

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Trent, what instrument are you holding in your hand?"

Trent stared. "A little off topic... but it's a guitar. Why?"

"Never mind." Courtney said, as the group disbanded.

_Duncan Confessional_

**_(Laughing hysterically)_** _What a fricking idiot! I mean, come on! Even when Courtney practically spelled out for him he was still totally clueless._

_Heather Confessional_

_Am I worried about being voted off? **(Laughs)**_ _Of course not! I may have persuaded a couple of people to vote with me tonight..._

_Leshawna Confessional_

_I'm still voting for Heather no matter what. If that rich **(censored)**thinks she can do that to Gwen and get away with it, she's got another thing coming._

_Trent Confessional_

_**(Still puzzled) **No really, who does Gwen like?_

**Campfire Ceremony**

Chris walked his way up to the podium. "This is the part where I would normally give my speech, but since Gwen looks pretty messed up, we'll just skip that tonight okay?"

Gwen glared at him, growling out a low, "_Chris_..."

"Well then!" He said. "Sheesh! Okay a marshmallow goes to..." he said, proceeding to throw the marshmallows to each person whose name he called. "Trent and Gwen, Izzy and Noah," They smiled, knowing their alliance was safe... for tonight. "Owen, Beth, Lindsay and Leshawna." He paused. "Well this leaves two competitors," he said, "Cody and Heather."

"Please be Heather..." Gwen chanted.

"And the final marshmallow goes to... Heather."

"What?" Gwen exclaimed, jumping up.

"It's cool." Cody said, walking towards the dock. "Well see you... never, I guess." He chuckled, hopping on the Boat of Losers.

The cameras flashed re one last time before calling it quits for the night.

**Izzy and Noah**

"Izzy!" Noah hissed. "Izzy!"

The Screaming Gopher Girl's cabin door swung open. "Noah?" Izzy said, sleepily. "What time is it?"

"Around 2:30 AM." Noah said. "I didn't want anyone to over hear."

"Oh, so this is serious." Izzy said, suddenly awake. "I thought maybe you were trying to kill me or something."

He rolled his eyes. "Now why would I do that?"

She shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

"Anyway..." he said, "I came to tell you the Cody wasn't voted off."

"Sure he was." Izzy said. "He walked the Dock of Shame and hopped on the Boat of Losers. Unless the voting's rigged or-" Her eyes snapped wide open. "The voting's rigged."

"And there you have it." Noah said. "If you tally up the votes, considering who would would logically vote for whom, Heather should have been eliminated."

Izzy frowned. "But what if some people just lied about who-"

He shook his head. "Not unless five or six people are lying to us."

"Can I see the logic?" Izzy said, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples.

Noah nodded. "Owen wouldn't have voted for Cody, they were close friends, that's one. Two Cody, you're not allowed to vote for yourself, remember Courtney? Three, Trent. He'd vote for anyone Gwen wanted off. Same with Leshawna, so that's four. I'm fifth and you voted for Heather, right?" Izzy nodded. "So that's six. Lastly, Gwen. No matter how annoying Cody was to her, she's have voted for Heather." He paused. "That leaves only Heather, Lindsay and Beth to vote for Cody."

Izzy went over this in her head. "Ohmigod! Noah you're a fricking genius!" She exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek in celebration. He froze up. "We'll tell Courtney and Duncan first thing tommorrow!"

It was another hour before Noah finally unfroze.

**The Arbour Family**

Mrs. Arbour, smiled, looking through some old photo albums. She lay curled up on the couch, her five-year old daughter Nicolette snuggled up beside her.

Her fourteen-year old daughter, Gisele, came up behind her. "Photo albums again, mom?" She called teasingly, flicking on the TV.

"I can't help it," Mrs. Arbour said smiling, "Karina's getting married in a month. I can't believe it's already been ten years since she was my foster child."

"I can't believe you keep a photo album with pictures of all the kids you fostered in it." Gisele said, smirking. "That's just weird."

Mrs. Arbour frowned. "It's not weird." She said, flipping until she reached the last page. "I loved those kids." She smiled at the last photo. The boy standing there had been a special case.

It had been three years ago. Mrs. Arbour had given up fostering since having her own kids.

She received the phone call late afternoon. "Amelie?"

"Yes?"

"Oh thank god!" The lady exclaimed. "It's me, Cecilia!"

"Oh. Hi?"

"Look I need your help. I have this one boy who needs-"

"Wait a minute!" Amelie Arbour had said. "Nicolette's just two, I don't know if I want her exposed-"

"Please? I'm desperate!" Cecilia had begged. "Besides, this may be the last kid you foster. Come on!"

And so the boy had come to live with them within a week. He stayed a whole year, and Cecilia was right, he was the last kid she ever fostered.

Violin music filled the background, breaking Amelie out of her flashback. "What are you watching?" She asked Gisele.

Gisele shrugged. "Some show Neila hooked me on. Apparently it's the best thing since the croissant." She joked. "It's called The Death Games."

"The Death Games?" Amelia said. "I'm not sure I want you-"

"It's not graphic or anything, Mom." Gisele whined.

"I'll be the judge of that." Amelie said.

"Mom, it's in _English_. You haven't been out of Quebec in your life!" Gisele said.

"My English is fine." Amelie replied. A few minutes later she was hopelessly lost. "Translate?"

Gisele sighed. "They're forming an alliance right now." She said. "It's like Survivor, only it's just a scripted show. It's labelled as a scripted reality, like a parody, sort of."

Amelie frowned at the screen "Is that boy paralyzed?"

"Noah? No," Gisele said, "he's sort of... spastic I guess. He just acts really weird when people touch him. Personally," she said, giggling, "I think he likes Izzy."

They stared back at the screen and their jaws dropped. Amelie felt everything spin. "Is that..." she gasped, pointing a boy who looked exactly like the boy she fostered.

Gisele gulped. "Yeah." She replied. "I never noticed before, your photo album..." She trailed off. "I guess it's not scripted after all," she said in horror, "Trent was never that good an actor."

* * *

Cliffy! Just in time too, this thing is over 5400 words long. Next chapter will be a continuation of the Arbour's conversation which will reveal a lot, including tons about the organization of 21. After that though, it's back to the challenges.

-Pursuit


	6. The Arbours: The Schism

Hey guys, here's the next chapter.

Warning: Here's the part where it starts a little Hunger Games-ish. And Series of Unfortunate Events-ish. Fortunately for you, this is also where it ends.

Disclaimer: I don't own TDI/TDA, the concept of TV or the province of Saskatchewan. Thank god. (Too much work.)

_**

* * *

****The Arbour Family**_

_Mrs. Arbour, smiled, looking through some old photo albums. She lay curled up on the couch, her five-year old daughter Nicolette snuggled up beside her._

_Her fourteen-year old daughter, Gisele, came up behind her. "Photo albums again, mom?" She called teasingly, flicking on the TV._

_"I can't help it," Mrs. Arbour said smiling, "Karina's getting married in a month. I can't believe it's already been ten years since she was my foster child."_

_"I can't believe you keep a photo album with pictures of all the kids you fostered in it." Gisele said, smirking. "That's just weird."_

_Mrs. Arbour frowned. "It's not weird." She said, flipping until she reached the last page. "I loved those kids." She smiled at the last photo. The boy standing there had been a special case._

_It had been three years ago. Mrs. Arbour had given up fostering since having her own kids._

_She received the phone call late afternoon. "Amelie?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Oh thank god!" The lady exclaimed. "It's me, Cecilia!"_

_"Oh. Hi?"_

_"Look I need your help. I have this one boy who needs-"_

_"Wait a minute!" Amelie Arbour had said. "Nicolette's just two, I don't know if I want her exposed-"_

_"Please? I'm desperate!" Cecilia had begged. "Besides, this may be the last kid you foster. Come on!"_

_And so the boy had come to live with them within a week. He stayed a whole year, and Cecilia was right, he was the last kid she ever fostered._

_Violin music filled the background, breaking Amelie out of her flashback. "What are you watching?" She asked Gisele._

_Gisele shrugged. "Some show Neila hooked me on. Apparently it's the best thing since the croissant." She joked. "It's called The Death Games."_

_"The Death Games?" Amelia said. "I'm not sure I want you-"_

_"It's not graphic or anything, Mom." Gisele whined._

_"I'll be the judge of that." Amelie said._

_"Mom, it's in English. You haven't been out of Quebec in your life!" Gisele said._

_"My English is fine." Amelie replied. A few minutes later she was hopelessly lost. "Translate?"_

_Gisele sighed. "They're forming an alliance right now." She said. "It's like Survivor, only it's just a scripted show. It's labelled as a scripted reality, like a parody, sort of."_

_Amelie frowned at the screen "Is that boy paralyzed?"_

_"Noah? No," Gisele said, "he's sort of... spastic I guess. He just acts really weird when people touch him. Personally," she said, giggling, "I think he likes Izzy."_

_They stared back at the screen and their jaws dropped. Amelie felt everything spin. "Is that..." she gasped, pointing a boy who looked exactly like the boy she fostered._

_Gisele gulped. "Yeah." She replied. "I never noticed before, your photo album..." She trailed off. "I guess it's not scripted after all," she said in horror, "Trent was never that good an actor."_

**The Arbours Cont'd**

"What the hell is going on?" Gisele screamed over the back round noise of the TV. She flicked it off, not exactly in the mood to watch a cartoon about surfers.

"I... I don't know." Amelie Arbour muttered. "If I knew I would..."

"What?" Gisele thundered. "Tell me? Because you sure hell were fine keeping it a secret from me until now!"

"I said I didn't know!" Amelie screamed, losing her cool for the first time since Gisele could remember. "Jesus! Think! Why would I insist on watching the TV show that Trent was forced on if _I knew_?"

Nicolette shifted in her sleep. "Something wrong, mommy?"

"Ssh, honey. Time to go to bed." She picked Nicolette up, and carried her up the stairs.

"Do I have to brush my teeth?" Nicolette whined.

Amelie bit her lip. "No Nicky, I'm sure it won't kill you to not brush your teeth. But just this once." She laid Nicky down on her bed. "Sleep tight."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite." Nicky said, yawning.

Amelie rushed down the stairs, to find Gisele dialing numbers into the phone. "What's going on?" She said.

"I have to call somebody." Gisele muttered. "The police maybe. And if they don't listen-"

The front door slammed open. "Stop dialing." Luc Arbour, Gisele's father, demanded.

Gisele blinked, then pressed the End Call button. "Dad, why are you home so early?"

Luc put out his hand. "Give me the phone." He sighed at the hesitation on Gisele's face. "Just do it."

She passed him the phone. "What are-" She was interrupted when Luc slammed the phone into the ground.

"From now on," he muttered, "there will be no more calls made from this house, got that?" Gisele and Amelie nodded. "As well, we are now an English speaking family."

Gisele nodded, but Amelie showed worry. "Luc, we both know-" He coughed. She sighed, trying again in broken English. "Luc, we both know my English is not major accomplishment. It is not wonderful. Gisele, how can your English be so well?"

Gisele rolled her eyes. "I spent six summers with Grandma in Saskatchewan. How much more English can you get?"

Amelie frowned. "But I will be in help of a translation, no?"

"She can't translate for you, Amelie." Luc sighed. "You'll have to try."

Amelie bit her lip, causing it to bleed. "But how can I-" She paused, a smile etching across her face. "I will find the magic book!"

Gisele groaned as her mother left the room. "Great. Now we're wizards too? When is the Hogwarts Express coming to pick me up?"

Amelie re-entered the room. "No silly!" She said. "You're much too old to be taken to Hogwarts. I meant this magic book!" She smiled, holding up a French-English dictionary.

Luc smiled faintly. "Great. It will be much harder for Nicolette to understand us now. If this got out-" He groaned, rubbing at his temples.

"So you know what's going on?" Gisele asked warily.

Luc nodded. "Yes."

"Well, finally. Now that you can explain everything, this will be much easier." Gisele said.

Luc shook his head. "It's not that simple. This is going to take a while, probably all night."

Amelie flipped through the dictionary furiously. "So what are you waiting for?" She said. "Begin."

---

The Arbour family was now seated around their dining table. "Why are you home so early?" Gisele asked again.

"I saw Trent on one of the monitors at the cable company. I rushed home as soon as I could." He sighed. "Gisele, has the show ever mentioned an organization by the name of 22?"

She nodded. "At the beginning. I think Courtney said it."

Luc frowned a little. "First thing you should know, is that that 22 is very much real." He sighed. "It is nothing fictional, and as you have figured out, neither is the show."

Gisele frowned. "What's the deal with 22?"

"Well, as you know, it's called 22 because there were originally 22 members. I think Courtney mentioned that at the beginning." Gisele nodded. "What you should probably know is that I was one of the original 22."

Gisele gasped, along with Amelie. "You never told me you were part of some secret evil organization!" Amelie whisper shrieked.

Luc frowned. "Think Amelie, think. You _did_ know."

She gasped again, muttering, "Angels Without Wings."

"The French codename, yes." Luc said. "Remember now?"

Amelie nodded weakly. "It makes sense now. The odd hours, the business trips, the strange packages... at the time I said-"

"-Luc! Are you a member of the mob or something?" Luc said, smiling. "I remember."

"And you were, weren't you?" Gisele said.

Luc shook his head. "No, were far from mob status. In fact, we were far from mob status." His forehead crinkled. "In fact, we were the ones who took down mobs."

"So what happened?" Gisele asked.

"Emmanuel joined," Luc stated, "and he had some different ideas on how to run things. It got out of control."

Amelie stared at her husbands saddened face. "Please." She whispered. "Tell us what happened."

"Emmanuel wanted power." Luc continued. "He was not happy with the way we ran things unnoticed. He wanted recognition, even if it meant commiting the crime and 'solving' it himself."

"Continue." Amelie said, pushing him to go further.

Luc swallowed. "Slowly, it came to the point where committing a crime became more frequent than solving them, and slowly people started to see it his way. The members were equally divided," he said, "with eleven supporting him and eleven against him. Since he always had twelve people supporting him, including himself, he slowly climbed the ranks." He paused. "Eventually there was a falling-out, and eleven us went on to re-create our lives, thinking the past was behind us."

"Like in a Series of Unfortunate Events." Gisele mumbled. "A secret organization with a schism."

"A schism?" Amelie asked.

"A divide." Gisele answered.

Amelie nodded. "I still don't understand... what does 22 have to do with this?"

"That's the part I haven't figured out yet." Luc said, rubbing his forehead.

"Why don't you call Stevens and ask?" Amelie said, staring at the smashed phone. "From a payphone."

"I can't." Luc groaned. "He died of cancer two years ago. From what I hear Kara's gone off the deep end, doesn't even look after Evan or Heather anymore."

Gisele snorted. "Funny, there's a Heather on the show."

Luc's eyes widened in surprise. "Is there a Bridgette?"

Gisele nodded slowly. "Yes."

Luc ran down the list, earning several yes's from Gisele. "What about a Cole?"

She shook her head, frowning. "No."

"Is there a Cody?" He asked, warily. She nodded. "Damn it." He muttered. "Just as I suspected."

"What?" Amelie asked, fearfully.

Luc paused. "Everyone on the shows parents have 'wronged' Emmanuel in some way. It's revenge." He sighed. "Trent was their form of revenge on us."

Gisele frowned as Amelie choked back a sob. "Why Trent though? Wouldn't I have had more of an impact."

Luc shook his head sadly. "You weren't the required age. From what I gather, everyone on the show is around sixteen."

Amelie sniffled. "What I don't get is how there can be twenty-two teens on that show if only eleven members walked away. None of them appear to be siblings."

"It wasn't just eleven members that walked away that day." Luc said. "Eleven _officials _walked away, many more members did. I'd say only four or so actually come from the member's families. Remeber, everyone had to fit the age requirement." He sighed. "Besides, I think Justin was the name of Berkeley's son, who was one of our lead forensic analysts."

"So Courtney's the only one from the other side of the spectrum?" Gisele asked.

Luc shook his head. "Actually, Emmanuel's own son from his first marriage is on there." He scrunched up his forehead. "If I can remember correctly, his name was Duncan."

* * *

...

...

...

Betcha you didn't see that one coming, did ya?

-Pursuit


	7. The Sucky Outdoors

So yeah, I should probably be studying for my science test, but I had to write this. I HAD TO. Okay? Okay.

I think that we've established that it's fairly reasonable to post a new chapter every Monday (shake your head yes or no) and so you can expect your day brightened (by my insane morbidness) at the beginning of each week.

So... yeah. SUPER HAPPY TERRIFIC SUSHI!

Disclaimer: Disclaimed.

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Sucky Outdoors**

_"Well, it's going to happen eventually, isn't it?"_

_-Izzy_

* * *

**At the Campfire**

"Campers," Chris began, "today's challenge will test your strength, your endurance, your baravery... I'm warning you, some of you might not make it back alive."

The campers yawned, unfazed. _You know, that line worked a lot better in my head._

He sighed. "Just kidding. All you have is spend one night in the woods, which should be easy enough for even _you _to handle. All the materials you need are at your team's campsite in the forest. All you have to do is find them." He said, tossing Heather and Duncan maps and compasses. (Duncan smirking cockily at Courtney when he caught them.)

"Oh, and watch out for bears." Chris said, smirking as Courtney grabbed the map out of Duncan's hand. "We lost more than enough interns that way in pre-production. It'd be a _shame _if it happened to one of you. First one back for brekkie wins invincibility." He blew his air horn. "Well, get to it!"

"Did he say there were bears in there?" Leshawna said, shakily. Which, of course, prompted Owen to go off onto one of his little rants.

When he finished, Izzy cut in, "Oh, this one time..."

"Izzy, no one cares." Noah said, rolling his eyes. She growled at him. "Oh, I'm so scared." He said, only to take it back a minute later. "Izzy, did you really just bite my _ear_?"

**The Screaming Gophers**

"Hey Gwen," Trent called out, running after her, "wait up. Can I walk with you?"

"No." She said, sighing.

He frowned. "Hey, if this is about that whole diary thing-" _Well, no duh Sherlock. _He didn't get to finish because Gwen stalked off, leaving him to walk back to the group.

_Trent Confessional_

_I think Gwen's upset about the whole diary thing, but that doesn't really explain why she won't talk to me..._

**The Killer Bass**

Courtney was leading this group, seeing as she was the one with the map.

Katie and Sadie brought up the rear. "Oh Sadie," Katie squealed, "look, blueberries!"

"Ah! I LOVE blueberries!" Sadie exclaimed.

"Ohmigosh! Me too!" _What a shocker. Both Sadie and Katie like blueberries. Go figure._

_Sadie and Katie Confessional _

_Katie: Sadie and I are BFFFLs!_

_Sadie: Best Female Friends For Life!_

_Katie: We even got the chicken pox together!_

**The Screaming Gophers**

Even though she didn't have the map, Gwen leaded this group, mostly because she didn't want to have to deal with the other campers.

Heather growled, scratching at her arm. "Oh, she is _so _going down!"

"Who?" Poor, oblivious Trent asked. (Gisele Arbour did a face palm at this part of the episode.)

_"Who do you think?" _Heather shrieked. "Weird Goth girl! She dumped Harold's red ant farm into my bed!"

"Yeah, but you did read her diary out to the whole world." Trent said, shrugging. _Oh come on Trent, you just don't want Gwen to leave. Admit it. Come on!_

Heather rounded on the group abruptly, causing everybody to smack into the person in front of them. "So?"

"So," Trent began, rubbing at his head, "that was kind of harsh."

"She is going _down._" Heather repeated, before stalking off.

**The Killer Bass**

"Okay," Katie said, sitting down beside the picked clean blueberry bush, "those were so yummy! Can you believe how yummy those were?"

"They were so yummy!" Sadie said, wiping the blueberry of her face. _Okay, is it just me, or are these two getting really annoying?_

Sadie frowned. "Katie, where's the rest of the team?"

Katie shrugged, frowning slightly, "I don't know. They must be nearby. Killer Bass, where are you?"

"Killer Bass!" Sadie echoed. She gasped. "This is just like the time we were seven and lost our moms at the mall."

"And you started to cry and the security guards had to, like, page our moms and they were so mad!"

"Ohmigosh! Like, take a pill, we're fine!" Sadie said. They smiled fondly for a second before calling out, "Killer Bass, where are you?"

**The Screaming Gophers**

"Um," Owen began, "where's the food?" _Figures Owen would be the one to ask that..._

"This _is_ a survival challenge," Trent said, "look at the instructions."

Owen ignored him. "I wonder if there are any bears here." _Jeez Owen, didn't I just say that there were bears? _"Wouldn't it be funny if we made some bear noises and they came?"

Izzy giggled. "That would be so funny!"

Noah rolled his eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, a bear could definitely rip you from limb to limb." He paused. "Though it'd probably have a harder time with Owen."

Izzy frowned a bit. "What's your problem Noah?"

"My problem?" Noah asked, as Owen started growling like a bear. "Is that you two are going to get us killed!"

Izzy's face fell. "Well, it's going to happen eventually, isn't it?" Noah bit his lip, somewhat remorseful. "Besides wouldn't being eaten by a bear be a much cooler way to go?" She asked, smiling, although the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I guess so." Noah said, smiling. "Have fun making bear noises." He walked off.

Izzy watched as he walked away, wondering if she should follow him. She turned to Owen, and started making bear noises with him.

_Hmm. Was that a Noah and Izzy version of a deep conversation? And is it just me, or do they seem to be looking after one another?_

"Grr! I'm a bear!" Owen yelled.

Heather glared. "Could you two be quiet for once? I'm trying to read here!" She turned back to the map. "It says we have to find our own food. " She looked around. "Well? I don't see it!"

Trent smirked. "I think they mean in the woods."

"I'll go!" Owen volunteered. "I'm good at finding food!" _I wouldn't doubt that for a second, Owen._

"Well," Heather scoffed, "at least this will be a good week for my diet!" _Ah, Heather. Always finding the silver lining to the cloud._

**The Killer Bass- Katie and Sadie**

"You don't know where we are, do you?" Sadie asked.

"Yes... okay no, but it's totally not my fault! Have you ever noticed that all trees look the same?" Katie asked.

"Oh, I knew I should've known better than to listen to you!" Sadie said.

"What? You don't think I'm smart enough to find them?" Katie asked, glaring.

"Well you aren't exactly the best with directions!" Sadie said, glaring back.

"Yeah I am!"

"Nuh uh! Obviously not, because we're L-O-S-T. Lost!"

Katie frowned, and stuck out her tongue. _Real mature Katie, real mature._

**The Screaming Gophers**

"I'm so hungry!" Heather whined.

Izzy groaned. "I think my stomach _ate _my stomach." She sighed. "Yes Noah, I know that's not physically possible, happy?"

He nodded. "Quite."

A pizza guy walked into the scene. "Who ordered the pizza? Extra pepperoni?"

Chris walked onto the scene. "That's _mine, _thank-you very much. Next time I would appreciate it if you sent it to the mess hall." He stalked off towards the footage-editing booth, where he had been hiding out this whole time.

"That's just cruel." Gwen muttered.

Trent's eyes flew open. "You talked."

Gwen frowned, resuming silence once again. _Way to jinx it, Trent. _

Owen came crashing out of the bushes. "I am man. I bring food!"

"Are you kidding me?" Heather said, eyeing the fish.

"Man, you're awesome!" Trent said, walking over to Owen.

"I love fish! I love fish!" Izzy exclaimed, biting in to one of the raw fish, to the disgust of the others. "I guess we should cook it first."

"How do you know how to fish?" Heather asked, doubtfully.

Owen smiled. "My grandpa taught me. I caught a shark once, it bit me in the butt, check it out!" He said, bending over and dropping his shorts. _Thanks, Owen. _Chris said, writing down a note to censor that part out. _You made me lose my appetite._

"My eyes! My eyes!" "Eww!" "O-wen!" "Awesome!" The last was Izzy's.

**The Killer Bass**

"Well at least I know how to drive you- you- have to walk girl! Now who's smarter?"

"Trip to the beach ring a bell?" Sadie replied.

"I can't believe you're going to bring that up!" Katie shrieked. "I did have a really cute bikini on that day, though."

"You drove my mom's car into a snack shack!" Sadie said, accusingly.

"It was in my blind-spot!" Katie exclaimed. "Whatever. If it wasn't for me you'd be riding the bus to the mall!"

"Well, if it weren't for me," Sadie began, "you wouldn't be able to find your way to the mall!"

"I know my way to the mall!" Katie yelled back angrily. "You lean on me!"

"If it wasn't for me you wouldn't even be on this show!"

Chris almost peed himself laughing when two squirrels took to mimicking their argument. _Okay, that has to stay in!_

Katie gasped. "You're just saying that because I'm prettier than you!"

"I knew you thought that!" Sadie said, gasping.

Katie shrugged. "It's true. Everybody says so."

That's it!" Sadie exclaimed. "When we get back to camp we are so splitting up as BFFFLs."

"Fine!"

"Double fine!"

**The Killer Bass- The Rest**

"Wow! You pitch a tent like a guy!" Geoff exclaimed to Bridgette. _Wait for it..._

Bridgette stared at him oddly.

Geoff's face fell as he realized that probably was the greatest thing to say to a girl. "I mean... you're not all girly about dirt and stuff." _Double fail._

"Gee. Thanks." Bridgette said, without any emotion in her voice.

"What's for dinner woman? I'm starving." Duncan asked Courtney.

"I hope you don't expect to dignify that with a response." Courtney said, while trying to pitch the tent. _Just when you think they might start be civilized because of their alliance, they pull a fast one on you._

"Hey guys! Look what I found!" DJ said, walking into the clearing.

"Well, I never had rabbit stew before but..." Duncan trailed off, heading towards DJ.

"No!" DJ exclaimed. "This is my new pet. I'm calling him bunny!"

Courtney sighed. "So you couldn't find anything to eat?" She was answered when DJ shook his head no.

"Hey..." Duncan said, "has anyone seen Tweedledum and Tweedleidiot?"

Speaking of Katie and Sadie...

"Hey Katie!" Sadie called out. "Here's a tree with a fork in it. That's good right?"

Katie groaned. "No! We've seen that tree, like, three times. We just walked in a giant circle!"

An owl hooted, freaking Katie and Sadie out, causing them to run to a nearby cave for shelter.

"We'll be safe in here til morning." Katie said, panting.

A bat swooped in, and began chasing Sadie around. She managed to get rid of it and sat down, saying, "We're going to die here! We're going to die here!"

**The Screaming Gophers**

"Okay," Owen began, "fire is burning, fish are cooking, tent is tenting..."

"Nice job, man." Trent said.

"Thanks man." Owen said. "I owe it all to my Grandpa."

Trent frowned. "So you and your Grandpa really took down a bear?"

"Heck yes!" Owen began. "It was the scariest day of my entire life!"

This caused a couple of gasps.

Owen began recounting his story. Chris tuned it out, simply writing 'illustrations' on his notepad.

"...it was a good death." Owen said finishing his story.

"Yeah right." Heather said, scoffing. "Like you really took down a bear. Hey, has anyone seen Crazy Girl_?" I have to say Heather, that's not a very creative nickname. Weird Goth Girl's better._

Lindsay shrugged. "I think she had to pee."

"That was an hour ago, though!" Trent said, getting up. "Izzy! Izzy!"

"Izzy the Gopher, where are you?" Owen called out. The bush in front of him shook. "Oh, for a second there I thought we-" He was cut off when the bear popped out of the bush. "We're going to die!" Owen said, running around. "We're going to die! I want my mommy!" He continued with this for a while until Heather, fed up, tripped him.

"The trees!" Heather shouted. "Climb into the trees!" _Now kids, many people have claimed that this show is not "educational" enough. So first lesson, if you're ever being chased by a bear, DO NOT climb a tree. Bears are actually very adequate climbers. Now you know._

**The Killer Bass**

An owl hooted, causing Bridgette to sigh.

"Be cool." DJ said. "It's just and owl."

"I know." Bridgette said. "I just get really freaked out in the forest."

Duncan spoke up. "This reminds me of this really scary story I heard once."

"You have to tell it!" Geoff said, enthusiastically.

"Are you sure?" Duncan said. "Because the story I'm thinking of is pretty hardcore."

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Ooh. We're so scared." _Seriously, what happened to alliance Courtney and Duncan? They're way nicer to each other!_

Duncan shrugged. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." He cleared his throat. "One night, a lot like this one,"

Chris frowned listening to the story. _Note: Remove footage from here to here- much too graphic._

"-And there was the bloody hook. They say the killer's still out there, wandering these very woods. In fact, he could be anywhere. Maybe even right here!" He said, pulling out a silver hook, causing the campers to gasp. _Note to self: If Duncan makes it out alive, he's got a brilliant career in acting ahead of him. Very theatrical._

He chuckled maniacally. "Duncan!" Courtney yelled, shakily. "That was so not funny!"

"Oh yes it was!" Duncan said. "I just wish it was all on camera. Oh wait, it is!"

She glared. "You are so vile. Do your parents even like you?" _That's low, Courtney._

"I don't know, Jumpy McChicken, I haven't asked them lately." He replied back, smirking.

Just then an owl hooted, causing Courtney to jump into Duncan's arms. _Really? Did she just-? Does she realize-? And does he really-?_

**The Screaming Gophers**

"So what do we do now?" Trent asked, perching off of one of the tree limbs.

"Don't look at me!" Heather exclaimed, defensively.

"It was your idea to climb the trees!" Gwen exclaimed. _It speaks!_

"Well why don't you ask the bear hunting expert?" Heather replied. _See that would be great if you had one... _"Hey Owen, what now?" _Oh, she meant Owen._

He shrugged. "How should I know?"

"Dude... you said you killed a bear!" Leshawna said, angrily.

"I was being theatrical!" He called back.

"This is all your fault!" Heather exclaimed. "If you hadn't been growling like that-"

"Excuse me for living!" Owen called back, sobbing and hitting his head against the tree.

"Ease up on the guy!" Trent said. _There goes peacemaker Trent._ "He did bring us all that fish!" The bear then chose that moment to suddenly notice the fish. _Funny how Trent always jinxs things..._

"Hey!" Heather screamed. "Lay off our fish!"

Lindsay sobbed, clutching the tree branch. "It's probably already eaten Izzy!"

"Then it shouldn't be hungry!" Heather said, as Gwen gasped. "What? This is survival of the fittest."

"Whoa!" Leshawna called out as her branch cracked, leaving her face to face with the bear.

"Dear Abby she's going to die!" Owen wailed.

"Nice bear." Leshawna said, backing herself into the tree. "Somebody help me!" She wailed.

"Hey, are you okay?" The bear asked_. Okay, what's going on? When did bears learn to talk?_

Leshawna paused, frowning. "Uh, did that bear just ask me a question?"

The bear than reached for it's head, ripping it off to reveal a grinning Izzy.

"OMG! I did not see that happening!" Owen said, sliding down the tree trunk.

Lindsay frowned. "Okay... I am so confused right now."

"What are you? Some kind of weirdo?" Gwen asked Izzy.

"I thought it would be funny!" She said, giggling.

**The Killer Bass**

Bridgette got up, fidgeting.

"What's wrong?" DJ asked. "Gotta pee?"

"Yeah," she admitted, "but I'm too scared to leave the tent."

"Yeah, me too." DJ said, holding up a jar full of pee. _Disgusting!_

Bridgette exited the tent, gasping at the slightest of noises, causing a bat to fly right into her face. Blindly she stumbled around, accidentally knocking an ember onto the tent, lighting it up in flames.

Everyone glared at her, and she waved back sheepishly.

**The Screaming Gophers**

"Rocking the fish sticks!" Izzy said, grabbing some fish, still wearing the bottom part of the bear costume. "Nice!"

Of course, because the campers can never stay relaxed for a moment, another bush rustled. A moment later, a bear came walking out towards the fire.

"Wow! That costume is really good! Like, I thought mine was good, but this one's really good." Izzy babbled.

"It's probably Chris trying to mess with us." Trent said. "Yeah, nice try man." _No. Um... hello? I'm in the footage- editing booth!_

Owen laughed. "We know you're not a bear, dude." Owen said, poking the bear in the nose. _It's not me, man. I mean, it would've been a good idea and all but..._

"Uh, I don't know Owen." Gwen said. "This one looks pretty real."

"Chris did say there were bears out here." Heather said, scared.

"Oh come on guys!" Owen said. "They're just trying to see if they can punk us twice! This isn't a real bear and I'm going to prove it to you!" He said, tugging at the bear's face, and ripping out some hair. "That does look kind of real." The bear growled. "Yep. That's a real bear."

The bear grabbed it's hair back, sending Owen and the rest of the campers screaming.

"I told you making bear noises would attract a bear!" Noah yelled at Izzy.

**The Killer Bass**

"Great!" Courtney exclaimed. "That's just great Bridgette! Now we have nowhere to sleep." _I wouldn't yell so loud if I were you... you might attract the bears._

"Yo! Drama Queen, relax!" Duncan said. "It's cool."

"Cool?" Courtney asked. "It's cool? Things could not possibly get any worse!" Apparently, it could, because it began to rain. _Interesting...it's almost like I planned that. Almost._

**The Screaming Gophers**

"It's safe guys!" Trent called out, cracking his back. "The bear's gone."

"And so's the map." Gwen said, holding up a soggy piece of paper.

"I don't know how raccoons sleep in trees!" Izzy said, stretching. "I'm so stiff!"

"They must be really limber." Owen said, cracking his joints.

"You know what crazy girl? I don't want to hear another word from you or Owen here." Heather exclaimed. "If it weren't for you two we might've actually gotten to sleep in the tent!"

A bird perched on the branch behind them and began chirping. "Shut up!" They called out, sending the bird falling. _Uh oh, I'm going to be getting a lot of complaints from PETA about this!_

**The Killer Bass**

"Is it morning yet?" Katie asked.

"I think that was the worst night of my entire life!" Sadie said. "It was even worse than the time I went on a date with that guy-"

Katie didn't hear the rest of Sadie's story. She was more preoccupied by the huge bear standing before her.

Sadie, sensing that Katie wasn't listening asked, "What?"

Katie only pointed, the bear did the rest of the talking. The screamed and ran off.

Meanwhile, the other Killer Bass were still sleeping.

Courtney shifted around in her sleep, causing her to wake up."Morning Princess." Came from under her.

"What?" She accused, causing DJ to wake up. "Eww! You were cuddling me!"

"I was simply trying to lie back and catch some z's," Duncan said, "you were cuddling me."

"You are such an ogre!" Courtney yelled at him.

"I've been called worse." He said, shrugging and lying back.

Courtney screamed in frustration and walked off.

**The Campfire**

The Killer Bass ran in. "We're the first ones here!" Courtney exclaimed, just as the Screaming Gophers came in.

"Oh no!" Heather exclaimed. "They beat us here! This is all your fault!" She said, pushing Owen down.

"Ah, ah, ah! Not so fast Gopherino's!" Chris said. "The Killer Bass seem to be missing a few fish!"

"Oh Katie and Sadie?" Courtney asked. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they got eaten back wolves last night."

Duncan nodded. "Darn shame."

"We made it!" Katie and Sadie said, choosing that exact moment to rush in. "We're safe!"

"Ohmigosh guys we got totally lost and got in this massive fight!"

Katie picked up. "And there was this huge bear and it was all like ROAR!"

"And we had to run and it was like so scary!" Sadie finished.

"Oh Sadie!" Katie said. "I'm so sorry I said I was prettier than you!"

"And I'm so sorry I brought up the snack shack!"

"And I'm sorry I said your butt was too big to fit on the bus seat!" Katie said.

Sadie frowned. "You said that?"

"Well... not to your face." Katie admitted.

Sadie frowned, before saying, "Oh who cares? We're safe and you're my best friend and I love you!"

"Oh, I love you too!" Katie said, as the two hugged.

Courtney walked up beside them and cleared her throat. "Ahem! Are you two done with your little love fest?" They nodded. "Good... because you two just lost us the challenge!"

"Alright Killer Bass!" Chris said. "One of your fishy butts will be eliminated. As for the Gophers, you win an all expense paid trip to the tuck shop!"

**The Campfire Ceremony**

Chris launched straight into his speech, as per usual. "...And never come back! Ever! Now seeing as you all look really tired, I'm going to toss you your marshmallow, kay?"

The campers were too tired to nod.

"Courtney! Duncan! Bridgette! DJ! Harold! Geoff! Tyler! Ladies!" He said, getting to the bottom two, Sadie and Katie. "One of you will be out tonight! And the final marshmallow goes to... Sadie!"

Sadie protested. "Why'd you pick her? Why not me?"

Katie stood up. "Come on, Sadie! Be strong! You have to make it back for both of us now." She walked towards the dock.

"Miss you!" Sadie called out.

"Miss you more!" Katie yelled back, hopping on the boat.

**Later...**

Duncan sat down on the cabin bench beside Courtney. "What do you want now?" She asked, swatting away bugs.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry I scared you." Duncan apologized.

Courtney scoffed. "I wasn't scared! It was completely circumstantial! There's no such thing as a 'hook man'."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He said. "Or are you?" He yelled, pulling out the hook again.

She screamed. "I hate you!" She yelled, starting to walk off.

Just then the cameras flashed red one last time and gave out.

"Hey don't go!" He called after her, walking beside her. "Izzy wants us to meet her and Noah by the Board of Losers."

Courtney frowned. "Why there?"

Duncan shrugged. "No one ever goes there. Place reeks of death."

They walked in silence, until they saw Izzy and Noah standing by the board. "Look," Noah said, "they updated Cody's, Justin's and Eva's photos."

They stared at the red stained photos for a while before Izzy spoke up. "Okay, so Courtney and I have to tell you something."

Noah frowned. "What?"

Courtney leaned against the building. "They aren't actually killing-" She said, before crashing through the wall. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Duncan asked, helping her up. Izzy and Noah smirked at each other.

"Yeah..." she said, "that wall wasn't very stable."

Noah shook his head. "You fell through the door frame. The door wasn't closed properly." He peered in. "Whoa. Look at this."

The rest of them peered in, onlt to see the small cabin was full of tech equipment. "What is this?" Duncan asked.

"It's the footage editing room, remember?" Izzy said. "I guess this is where Chris goes over the tapes."

They stepped in, walking around. "This is pretty cool." Noah said.

"I think I found Chris's desk." Izzy called out to the others.

They followed her voice to a smaller room, with only a few monitors, a desk, and a wheeled chair. "What's this?" Duncan asked, flipping through a small notebook.

"What's in it?" Courtney asked.

"It's some sort of journal." He said. "Listen to this, _'That sounded a lot better in my head', 'Way to jinx it, Trent', 'Wait for it...', 'That's low Courtney' and 'Note to self: If Duncan makes it out alive, he's got a brilliant career in acting ahead of him. Very theatrical'. _They all have times beside them too."

"Really?" Noah asked, sitting at the keyboard and hacking into the computer. "Like what?" Duncan listed some times, and they watched the footage that matched the quotes.

"Looks like Chris was keeping a journal where he responded to the footage. Is that sane?" Izzy asked.

"He's an actor." Duncan said. "Are any of them sane?"

They left, leaving everything as it was. "So what were you going to tell us?" Noah asked.

"That they haven't actually been killing anyone yet." Courtney said.

"How do you know?" Duncan asked.

"The blood's fake." Izzy replied, staring at the Board of Losers. "It's actually a mixture of sugar and cran-"

Courtney frowned. "Izzy?"

Izzy turned around, wide-eyed. "It's not fake."

"What do you mean?" Courtney exclaimed.

"It's not fake anymore." Izzy said. "Somebody replaced it with real blood."

* * *

Cliffhanger! I'm starting to think that's my signature author trait. Maybe that's why I can never write a one shot...

Anyways, there you have it, The Sucky Outdoors.

PM me what you think about Total Drama Musical! I really want to know!

-Pursuit

(PM me if you have any questions about this...)


	8. Phobia Factor

Hey guys! Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! Sorry for posting so late!

Disclaimer: I so totally wish I owned...

* * *

**Chapter 8: Phobia Factor**

_"I knew they were eavestroughing!"_

_-Lindsay_

_

* * *

_

Sadie was lying down at the edge of the dock, still sobbing even though Katie had left more than an hour ago.

"Katie would want you to keep going!" Bridgette encouraged.

Sadie just continued sobbing into the dock.

Bridgette sighed. "Come on, let's go back and join the others!" She said, pulling Sadie away from the dock.

"No!" Sadie met her with resistance, ripping away part of the dock. "I miss you Katie!"

The other Killer Bass looked up from the campfire tiredly as they approached, Sadie still wailing.

"It was a long goodbye." Bridgette said to Courtney, sitting Sadie and herself down.

Courtney sighed as she watched the Screaming Gophers approach. "What do you want?" She asked, tiredly.

Trent shrugged. "We brought you guys back some dessert. Maybe to celebrate that there's no challenge for three days?"

Courtney looked at him warily. "Really?"

Gwen sighed. "Owen stunk up our cabin, so we came out here so it could air out."

Beth nodded, and approached Courtney with a plate of green jello. "Want some?"

"No!" Courtney shrieked. "I mean, no thanks!"

"What?" Duncan asked. "You on a diet or something?" _Funny... he reminds me so much of him._

She stared back at him wearily, her eyes red. "No...I'm just not hungry, okay?"

He was about to speak up but Beth cut him off. "Want some?"

Beside him DJ screamed, and knocked the plate out of her hands. "Snake!"

Noah scoffed. "You mean this?" He said, wiggling the object back and forth. "It's just a gummy worm."

DJ sighed. "Sorry for tripping... snakes just freak me out!"

Tyler patted his back sympathetically. "It's okay man, chickens give me the creeps."

"Chickens?" Gwen asked, a mixture of surprise and mocking in her voice.

Duncan chuckled. "Wow... That's just pathetic."

_Gwen Confessional_

_Then suddenly everyone just starts sharing their fears... Beth's terrified of bugs, Harold's scared to death of ninjas and Heather's afraid of sumo wrestlers!_

"My fear?" Gwen asked. "I guess getting buried alive."

"Walking through a mine field... in heels!" Lindsay said.

"Flying's some pretty crazy stuff man." Owen said.

"You will never catch me on a plane. Never." Izzy said. "What about you Noah?"

Noah shrugged. "Pop music. More specifically, the Jonas Brothers." Everyone stared at him oddly. "What? You try living with five older sisters."

Geoff sighed. "Hail. It's small but deadly, man."

"Being left alone in the woods." Bridgette said, shuddering.

"Bad haircuts!" Sadie said, sniffling.

"Oh! That's, like, my second greatest fear!" Lindsay said.

"I'm not really afraid of anything." Courtney said, confidently.

"Yeah right." Duncan coughed

Courtney cringed. "Yeah well, what are you afraid of Duncan?"

Duncan shifted around uncomfortably, noticing everyone was staring at him. "C-Celine Dion music store s-standees." He said, getting it over with.

Trent chuckled. "Dude, did you say Celine Dion music store standees?"

"Ooh! I love Celine Dion!" Lindsay exclaimed. "What's a standee?"

"You know," Trent said, smirking, "those cardboard cut outs at the music store. Kind of-"

Duncan cringed. "Don't say it!"

Trent smirked again. "Kind of like a life sized but flat Celine."

Courtney smirked. "So if we had a cardboard standee right now-"

"Shut up!" Duncan said, covering his ears. "Okay, what about you guys?"

"Okay," Trent said, "I'm afraid of mimes."

Courtney rolled her eyes, muttering, "Figures," under her breath.

"Alright Courtney," Trent said, "you're afraid of something! Spit it out!"

She smiled. "I'm not really afraid of anything!"

"Didn't seem like it last night." Duncan not-so-subtly whispered to the guys.

"Duncan," Courtney said, "did it ever occur to you I was just humouring you and your stupid story?"

"Sure Princess," he said, "whatever floats your boat."

"Shut up!" She screamed.

_Things just got a little more interesting._

****

The Next Morning

"Campers!" Chris said, smirking. "Today's challenge is a little game I like to call _Phobia Factor_! Prepare to face your worst fears!"

"Worse than this?" Leshawna asked, motioning to her bowl.

Gwen sighed. "We're in trouble." _Yes you are..._

"Now for our first victims!" Chris said. "Heather! Meet us at the theatre... it's sumo time!"

Heather who was sipping on her coffee, promptly spit it out in shock, hitting Trent in the face. _Sucker!_

"Gwen!" Chris said, commanding attention. "You! Me! A couple of tons of sand?" _Oh wow, she looks really scared... too late to back out now._

"Wait..." Lindsay began, "How did they know what your fears were?"

It suddenly dawned on Gwen. "Because we told them!" She said, resting her head on the table.

Lindsay and Beth exchanged confused looks. "Last night," Trent said, patting Gwen's back, "at the campfire?"

"Wait... they were listening to us?" Lindsay asked. _Well, duh. That was some serious drama going on... you think we'd let that go to waste?_

"It's a reality show, Einstein," Gwen said, "they're always listening to us."

Lindsay looked ticked. "That's eavestroughing!"

Chris spoke up. "Chef Hachet... didn't you have a special order for Tyler here?"

Chef nodded, holding the fryer in Tyler's face, a fried chicken resting there.

Tyler grabbed it and took a bite, only to scream when a live chicken popped it's head out.

****

The Challenges Begin- Beth

Chris smiled sadistically as he stood beside the inflatable for Beth's challenge. The campers looked queasy, and DJ even went so far as to throw up.

Beth merely shrugged, surprisingly calm, and jumped in. She came out a minute later, bugs in her mouth.

"And Beth sets the bar high up there, earning the first point for her team!" Chris said. _Maybe this won't be so hard after all..._****

Sadie

Later, Chris met up with Sadie at the mess hall, sporting a pair of scissors. "So Sadie..." He said. "Ready for that haircut?"

Sadie merely screamed, knocking the scizzors out of his hands.

"Yeah." Chris said. "No point for you." _I don't blame her. I don't know what I'd do if I had to get rid of my gorgeous locks!_ ****

Owen, Izzy and Noah

Owen and Izzy stared at the plane, mouths gaping. Chef popped out of the plane, dressed as a flight attendant, and ushered them onto the plane.

Izzy gasped again. She turned to Noah. "Noah," she began, "I just want you to know, that if I die on this thing... you're my best friend, okay?" _Aw... no Chris! Now is not the time for tears!_

He smirked. "You're not going to die. You still have to take over the world."

She smiled. "Oh, that's right... well, see you once we hit ground!"

He rolled his eyes, as Izzy mentioning the plane 'hitting the ground' had caused Owen to panic. "See you!" He called out as the plane took off.

"Well," Chris said, having been left with Noah, "I might as well give you your challenge now."

"Oh no," Noah said, "surely you don't mean..."

"Oh yes," Chris said. "And don't call me Shirley!"

Noah twitched.

Chris rolled his eyes. "You have to keep these on for as long as Izzy and Owen are up on that plane, so about three them off and lose the point for your team."

Noah took the headphones from Chris's outstretched hand. "You are a horrible man."

Chris chuckled. "I know." _Oh, how I know._****

Harold

Harold sat in one of the communal bathroom stalls, reading a comic book. He heard a thud, and squinted his eyes.

Meanwhile, the ninjas slid down the rope, springing quietly onto the floor.

Harold flung open the stall door, meeting the ninjas face to face for the first time. Silently he pulled his numchucks out, causing the ninjas to silently gasp.

Harold began to demonstrate his numchuck skills as the ninjas cowered in fear, however, this was short-lived because Harold soon knocked himself out with the numchucks.

_Yeah... I'm not even going to try to explain what just happened here._

****

Leshawna

Leshawna backed away slowly as Chef came towards her, wearing a spider costume.

She screamed suddenly, taking off, causing Heather to smack her own forehead frustratedly. _'Kay, that was sort of weak..._

****

Heather

Everyone on the Screaming Gopher's side met at the amphitheatre for Heather's challenge.

Heather squirmed as the giant sumo stood on the opposite side of the stage from her. _Who knew? The girl that probably eats kittens for lunch is able to feel fear. Huh._

"Heather scored the Screaming Gopher's their second point of the day, conquering her fear of sumo wrestlers." Chris said to the camera, as Heather ducked, causing the sumo wrestler to trip over her and bounce away.

****

Bridgette

"Bridgette began her six hours of solitude in the woods feeling pretty confident." Chris said, in another speech to the camera.

"I am not scared." Bridgette assured herself. "Six hours in the woods is nothing!"

A chipmunk walked up to her feet, chuckling at her.

She panicked, and let out a blood-curdling scream, kicking the poor creature across the island.

_Oh great. Now I'll have another five hundred letters from PETA and Greenpeace waiting for me tomorrow._

****

Gwen

Chris stood with the others on the beach, shoveling sand onto the clear box Gwen was being buried in.

"Okay Gwen," Trent said, kneeling down to talk to her, "you have enough air to last an hour. You only have to do five minutes."

"As long as we decide to dig you up." Chris said, smiling.

"Not funny Chris!" Gwen snapped.

_Jeez! Who pissed in your cheerios? _"Sheesh! I was kidding!"

Trent held up a walkie talkie. "I'll be listening the whole time. Just yell if you panic and need to pick me up."

Gwen smiled, taking the walkie talkie. "Good-bye cruel world!" _Yeah, yeah. No need to be melodramatic. This isn't Days of Our Lives._

Trent slid the air hole shut, and Chris began shovelling again.

****

DJ

DJ stood on the theatre stage, about ten feet away from a small table with a glass aquarium fixed on top. DJ frowned, eyeing the snake that resided in said aquarium.

"You can do this, buddy!" Duncan yelled, clapping for him.

DJ grimaced, staring the snake down, until it blinked. He screamed, backing away from the snake. "It blinked!"

"It means she likes you!" Sadie cried out encouragingly.

Courtney rolled her eyes. "It's the smallest snake ever DJ! Come on!"

DJ shrugged. "But it's slimy and scaly and slithery-"

Courtney stood up. "We need this point DJ! Suck it up!" _Whoa. Dragon lady!_

The other campers shook their heads behind her. "What?" She asked. "We're heading back to Loser ville here!"

DJ took a deep breath, and let the snake crawl up his finger, causing his team to cheer for him.

Courtney smiled. "See? Fear is only in the mind."

****

Trent

"You still alive in there?" Trent asked, sprawled out beside where Gwen was buried. "Only three more minutes!"

"And then you'll did me up, right?" Gwen asked.

"Don't worry," Trent said, "I'm not going anywhere. I promise." _Sappy much?_

"I need some sort of distraction." Gwen said. "Tell me a story. Um, why do you hate mimes so much?"

Trent sighed. "My mom took me to this carnival once when I was four so I could see the elephants. I was stoked."

"Yeah?" Gwen asked, nervously looking around the inside of the box.

"I was so busy watching them I lost her for a minute," Trent continued, " I called out, but all I could see was this horrible white face with black lips pretending to be me. I screamed and tried to run, but every time I turned he was there."

Something tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, coming face to face with a mime. He screamed and ran away.

"Trent?" Gwen asked over the walkie talkie.

"Just talk to him, bra." Chris called out as Trent ran past. "Ask him to go away."

****

Lindsay

"Okay," Chris said, "this is definitely my favourite challenge so far." He looked out at the clearing, smiling as the mines glowed red.

"Is this safe?" Beth asked.

"Nope!" Chris said, gleefully. _And that's what makes it so awesome!_

"Okay Lindsay," Chris began, "all you have to do is put on the pair of heels, walk through the maze, and try to not hit any of the mines."

The part of her team that wasn't doing any challenges watched, cheering as Lindsay began teetering through the maze.

Upon reaching the end of the maze, Lindsay jumped for joy. "Yeah! I did it! I-" She cut off, seeing as she accidentally jumped on one of the landmines. "Oh crap."

_Oh, I am liking this!_

Lindsay did, the mine setting off just enough to rip the heel off of her stilettos.

Chris sighed. "And the Gophers don't gain a point."

****

Trent Cont'd

Trent sighed in relief, thinking he had escaped the mime, only to have the mime pop right up beside him. He screamed, and took off running yet again.

He skidded to a halt, watching the mime act out. "There's no wall there!" He exclaimed. "Stop acting creepy!" _Great. Now Trent's probably going to have to see a therapist._ ****

Duncan

Duncan glared at the cardboard standee, Courtney amusedly smirking beside him. "She's pretty." Courtney said. "She's nice!"

"Just one hug and you're done." Chris said. _How cool is this? Duncan's scared of Celine Dion... Dude, if Duncan survives, I'm going to have to get a hold of Celine Dion and get her to meet him._

"That looks really real, man." Duncan said, shakily, turning to Courtney.

"Dude she's made of cardboard!" Tyler yelled. "Get in the game!"

"It's okay if you can't do it." Courtney said.

Duncan sighed, knowing he had to do it now or be faced with endless teasing from Courtney. Unexpectantly she grabbed his hand, causing Chris to spasm in shock. _OMG! Did- But- What- Who?_

"Alright. I'll try." Duncan said, smiling at Courtney, causing Chris to sputter some more.

"You can do this!" She encouraged. _Wait... why wasn't she this encouraging for DJ? Oh yeah, that's right, because she not in LOVE with DJ. There I said it._

Geoff gave Chris a funny look. "What did you say?"

"Nothing!" Chris snapped.

"Okay, okay." Duncan said calming himself. He then took a running leap at the the Celine Dion standee, and hugged the fricking crap out of it.

"You're awesome!" Courtney said, hugging him.

"I did it!" Duncan cried out incredulously.

Courtney let go of him, letting the others have a turn to congratulate him.

****

Trent yet again

Trent ran hurriedly down the dock, and dived off of it. "Woohoo! Yeah!" Trent called out. "What's the matter, can't swim?"

The mime made a diving motion with his hands, causing Trent to panic.

"Stop, your makeup will run!" He called out.

The mime nodded, walking off sadly.

"Take that you big make-up wearing freak!" Trent called out victoriously.

Chris clapped. "Nicely played, Trent." _Oh gross, mime._ He shuddered. "Unfortunately, I don't think things are going so smoothly for our buddy Geoff." He said, holding up a purple remote.

****

Geoff

Geoff closed his eyes, lying back on a lawn chair. He didn't even see the giant cloud coming.

However, it soon blocked out the sun, causing Geoff to open his eyes when he lost the sunny warmth. It was then Chris chose to unleash the hail.

Geoff jumped up screaming as the tiny balls of hail pelted him. _Ha, Geoff screams like a girl!_

Lindsay watched him as he ran past her. "Look that cloud is following him! Aw, it's like his own baby cloud!" She started to jump up and down. "I want one too! Here, Cloudy cloud!"

Chris sat back in Geoff's abandoned lawn chair, using the remote to move the cloud to follow Geoff. Trent stood beside him, watching Geoff run like a mad man. "Can you make the cloud go lower and pelt him harder?"

Chris paused. "You are one sick dude! But yeah." _I like the way that kid thinks!_

"That's awesome!" Trent exclaimed, as Geoff shrieked even louder. "Hey, do ever feel like you've forgotten something?"

"Sometimes." Chris said. "I usually ignore it and the feeling goes away." He chuckled. "Watch this! I'm going to bury him in hail!"

"Bury!" Trent called out. "Oh crap! Gwen!"

****

Bridgette Cont'd

Bridgette paced back and forth in the woods. "Okay, okay, okay. Bridge, you can do this!" _Now she's talking to herself? Looks like another one needs therapy._

"Only four hours and fifteen minutes to go." Bridgette said, checking her watch. An owl hooted. "Oh don't even try to freak me out, Chris!" She exclaimed, only to hear a distant explosion.

"What was that?" Trent said.

"Oh, someone probably just walked into the mine field." Chris said, as they worked to dig Gwen out.

The explosion caused Bridgette to go running towards the end of the woods, clearly not able to last any longer.

****

Gwen

Trent finished digging. "Gwen!" He exclaimed. "You did it!"

She threw the walkie talkie at him. "Yeah, thanks for leaving me all alone here. I'm possibly scarred for life thanks to you."

"She's alright!" Chris exclaimed. "She's alright!" _Oh thank god. If one of them had died prematurely I don't know what I'd do_!****

Owen, Izzy and Noah cont'd

The plane landed jerkily, and Izzy and Owen rushed out. They stood on firm ground for a minute, before bending down to kiss the ground.

Chris found Noah right where the plane took off, stuck in the fetal position, murmuring incomprehensible words. He swiftly plucked the headphones off his head. "You're free to go Noah."

Noah stared blankly at him before breaking out into a grin. "Thank god."

Izzy rushed up to him. "Noah! You're alive!" She screamed, tackling him in a bear hug.

_Yeah. I'll just pretend that's normal. Then again, it is Noah and Izzy._

****

Tyler

All the campers stood beside the pen, seeing as everyone had completed their challenges.

"Alright gang," Chris said, "we're in the ninth inning. Okay Tyler, for your challenge you have have to go in this pen for three minutes, with these chickens." He pulled the lid off of the box, letting the chickens escape.

"You can do it Tyler!" Bridgette cheered.

"Yeah... unless of course you're chicken!" Duncan said, flapping his arms like wings. _Funny, they look alike, but they don't have the same personality..._

Tyler curled up in a ball and rocked back and forth. "I'm not sure we're getting anywhere with this." Chris said.

"Tyler," Courtney said, "this is the last challenge! Stop being such a girl! We need you to win this!"

"Actually," Cody said, punching some buttons on a calculator, "if you do the math, you can't possibly win. We're winning by a lot."

Chris smirked. "Not necessarily. We still have one challenge left."

"Who?" Courtney said. "It can't be me... but I didn't..."

"You didn't have to." Chris said. "We're always watching you and your reactions."

Chris smiled as he recounted what the cameras had picked up about green jello.

"I knew it!" Lindsay exclaimed. "I knew they were eavestroughing!"

Courtney shrugged. "Oh, who cares? It not going to make a difference."

"Let's make it interesting then." Chris said. "I'll triple your current score if you complete the challenge."

They walked over to where the challenge was set up, Courtney looking queasy the whole time.

"You're afraid of green jello?" Duncan asked, smirking.

"Shut up!" Sh exclaimed. "At least I'm not afraid of Celine Dion!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Hey! It's just the cardboard version of her I'm afraid of!"

"Which is way more pathetic!" She said.

Chris butted in. "You can face your fear or you can chicken out... what will it be?"

"This is insane!" Courtney said, climbing the ladder.

She reached the top. "Like you said Court, it's okay if you can't do it!" Duncan shouted to her.

"It is?" Bridgette said. "But we'll lose!"

Duncan glared at her. "You're Courtney's friend right?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Then shut up. She doesn't need the pressure." He said, crossing his arms. _Whoa. Way to tell her off dude._

Courtney went and started to climb back down the ladder. "I can't do it." She said.

Chris took the screen. "Well, looks like the Gopher's win for the second time in a row!"

****

The Campfire Ceremony

_Bridgette Confessional_

_I know I'm her friend and all but she let us down. We could have won..._

_Geoff Confessional_

_Nah, I didn't vote for Courtney, man. It's not really her fault. If Chris hadn't made it interesting nobody would be blaming her right now. I voted for Tyler. I couldn't vote for Bridgette either..._

_Tyler Confessional_

_I voted for Sadie. Duncan and Geoff would have killed me if I tried to vote off the other girls, and I don't really want to vote myself off._

"There are only two marshmallows left on this plate. The person who does not receive the marshmallow must leave tonight and face the end of the road." He looked over Sadie, Courtney and Tyler. "So who goes?"

He paused for a minute. "Tyler. You're safe. And so is... Courtney!"

Sadie paused for a minute. "Really?"

Chris nodded. "Fraid so."

Sadie laughed. "Katie, I'm coming!" She called out, gazing heavenward, causing Chris's stomach to churn. She boarded the boat, not looking back, simply looking forward to seeing Katie.

Duncan rested his hand on Courtney's shoulder. "Hey."

"Hey." She said, weakly. "So... Sadie huh?"

Duncan nodded.

"You have anything to do with that?" She asked.

He nodded. "Of course."

She smiled weakly at him. "Thanks."

The cameras flashed, cutting the campers off from the real world.

****

Izzy and Noah

"Hey." Izzy said, sitting beside Noah.

He smiled back. "Hey."

"Courtney almost got eliminated." Izzy stated.

Noah smiled. "Let me guess, Duncan?"

She nodded. "He's just a big old softie. So how was listening to the Jonas Brothers all day?"

"Absolute torture." He chuckled. "Want to know a secret?"

Izzy grinned. "Oh, I love secrets!"

"That's not really my fear. I was afraid to say it." He said.

"So what are you afraid of?" Izzy asked.

"Dying." Noah said, seriously.

She chuckled. "Aren't we all?"

****

22

Emmanuel sat his desk, smiling at the footage that had immediately been sent over. He pressed the intercom button. "Marie, can you send Westing over to my office immediately?"

Marie nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "Sure thing. Oh, and you have four missed calls."

He frowned. "I'll get to that."

"Westing will be right up, sir." Marie finished, and true to her word Westing was up in a few minutes.

"You look lovely today." Emmanuel said, smirking.

Westing rolled her eyes, flipping her long brown hair. "Can it Emmanuel. What do you want?"

He chuckled. "As I said, lovely as ever. Have you seen the latest footage?"

Westing squirmed a little. "Yes."

"Ah, so you saw how close your daughter came to losing then?" He smirked.

She scoffed. "Westing's do not lose. Courtney will win."

"How can you be so sure?" He asked, toying with her.

"Because as long as your son is around," she said, scowling, "nothing will harm my daughter. He'll protect her." She laughed as she rendered Emmanuel speechless, something only she was able to do.

"You may go." Emmanuel said.

She laughed. "Like I need you when to tell me when to go. Face it, Emmanuel. Even though you're my boss, you're afraid of me. I own you." She said, sauntering out.

He scowled as he picked up his phone, punching in the familiar numbers.

_"What do you want?"_

"Why hello, Chris. Yes I'm fine, thanks for asking." Emmanuel said.

_"Hello Emmanuel. How was your day? How was work? Most importantly, what do you want?"_

"I saw the footage," Emmanuel began, "my boy's doing fine."

_"Yes, Duncan's doing fine... no thanks to you."_

Emmanuel smirked. "Now, now Chris... is that any way to treat your older brother?"

* * *

Oh snap!

-Pursuit


	9. Up The Creek

Yeah, so as I'm writing/typing/whatever this, it's like 10:10 on Saturday night. Ouch. See what happens when you procrastinate all day? Not that I would call it procrastinating, per se. Managed to read some really great fanfics TDI and Glee (Puck/Rachel) related. So yeah, it wasn't that bad.

**Note:** **Sparkling-nexis137**managed to catch a major goof on my part. Seems like I included Cody 'posthumously' in the last chapter. I'm just clearing up the fact that I meant to write in Noah, not Cody. So for all of you that were like OMG WTF BBQ, that's what happened. **Sparkling-nexis137**, major props.

Disclaimer: I don't own TDI, just like I don't own a secret army of evil rabbits. *wink*

* * *

**Chapter 9: Up The Creek**

_"Look, if I have to listen to you two natter on about chick stuff, I'm at least gonna play the devil's advocate here."_

_- Duncan_

* * *

**The Challenge Begins**

"Gophers! Bass!" Chris called out. "Today's challenge is a true summer camp experience. A canoe trip! You'll be paddling your canoes across the lake, to Boney Island!" Chris said, making ghost-like sound effects at the end. "When you get there, you must portage your canoes across the island, which is a two hour hike, trough horribly dense jungle!"

Geoff scratched his head. "We've got to por- what?" His team mates groaned. _Oh come on! Even I just learned what it means today, when I was going over the script!_

He pretended to be annoyed. "Portage!" He exclaimed, air quoting it. "Dude! Walk with your canoe!"

"Oh."

"When you arrive at the other end of the island," Chris began again, "you'll build a rescue fire that will be judged by me. The first team to turn around their canoes and paddle will win the challenge. Move campers, move!"

The campers rushed off, nearly crushing Chris in the stampede. "Oh wait!" He called out, stopping them in their tracks. "I forgot to mention, legend has it, that if you take _anything _off the island you'll be cursed forever!" He made his spooky sound effects, punctuated by a random burst of thunder, which may or may not have been staged.

Owen chuckled. "Sweet! A cursed island!" Everyone gave him an odd look.

Chris rolled his eyes. "Okay everyone, get in your canoes and let's have some fun!" The began to walk away, not frantically running like before. _Let's show a little effort here people!_

Beth suddenly came running from the the directions of the bathrooms. "What did I miss?" She asked, lisping.

Chris jerked his thumb towards the beach. "Canoes." Beth took off.

**Down at the beach- Screaming Gophers**

Trent smiled at Gwen as she came down the steps. "Partner?"

She smiled. "Sure."

_Trent Confessional_

_Well this is good. I think Gwen's starting to forgive me for the whole "leaving her buried alive" thing. Good sign._

"Okay, Beth, you totally have to be my canoe buddy!" Lindsay squealed, grabbing Beth's arm.

"Okay!" Beth happily replied, as the raced to find a canoe.

Owen sidled up to Heather. "So, you're my canoe partner!"

Heather groaned. "Really?"

"Yep!" He replied. "Isn't this awesome?"

"Yeah. Awesome." She said, glaring at Beth and Lindsay as Owen dragged her away.

_Heather Confessional_

_Okay, Beth and Lindsay seriously have it coming. How could they leave me alone with Owen? Their privileges in this alliance are about to get revoked!_

"And that leaves us in a canoe." Noah said to Izzy and Leshawna.

Leshawna smiled. "That's cool."

Izzy cocked her head. "How do you figure that, Noah?"

He sighed. "It's simple math really. Three people left with one canoe."

Izzy frowned. "I wanted to swim there! I'm, like, 13% fish you know."

Noah groaned. "Izzy, shut up and get in the canoe!"

She smiled and saluted him. "Aye, aye Noah-it-all! Did you know that the vein in your neck throbs when you're angry?" She chirped, skipping off to the canoe.

Noah rolled his eyes, smiling at her retreating figure.

Leshawna chuckled. "Boy, you got the hots for crazy over there?" She laughed even harder when Noah sputtered for a good five minutes. _Ha ha! He totally does!_

**Killer Bass**

Tyler tripped down the stairs, landing at Harold's feet. "Want to share a canoe?"

Harold nodded. "Sweet." They made their way to the canoes, Tyler only tripping every ten or so steps.

Bridgette waved up the steps to Courtney, who quickly followed her down. Courtney, noticing that Geoff was making his way over to Bridgette, grabbed Duncan by the arm. He winced. "Jeez, harpy, release the talons!"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, relax! I just don't want Geoff in a canoe with Bridgette."

"And you couldn't have picked DJ?" He asked.

She scoffed. "I could have, but then you and Geoff would have been together, and that would not have been ideal. I have to keep my eye on you."

"Oh mellow your yellow, babe. We're in an alliance, remember? I wouldn't have done anything stupid." He said.

"Regardless," she said, "you're coming with me and Bridgette." She said. Duncan groaned as she dug her nails in farther and dragged him to a canoe. _Yep, Duncan's whipped._

DJ frowned at what just happened. "Um, I guess it's you and me, dude." He said to Geoff.

Geoff looked after Bridgette. "Cool."

DJ frowned at their canoe. "Hey, do canoes tip over a lot?"

Geoff shook his head. "No man. You're thinking of kayaks."

DJ let out a sigh of relief.

**Setting Out**

Trent pushed his and Gwen's canoe out into the water, without any problems. _Sadly._

Owen bounced the canoe up and down on the water. "Yeah! Isn't this fun?" Heather, in response, whacked him with her paddle. _Pwned!_

The other campers quickly got into place, and Chris raised his gun. "On your marks! Get set... go!" He shot the gun, and a dead eagle crashed down a minute later. "Darn. That's gonna produce a lot of nasty emails."

"...And then these bushmen taught us how to kill, skin and cook a crocodile! It sounds weird, but they actually taste like chicken! And then taught us how to hunt koalas-" Izzy blabbed.

"Uh, isn't killing koalas illegal?" Leshawna asked.

Izzy giggled. "Oh, yeah it's probably illegal." Noah looked amused.

Trent smiled at Gwen. "So, you're totally fine after what happened?"

Gwen frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You know." Trent said. "Being buried alive on the beach?"

She frowned. "Yeah. Almost forgot about that."

_Trent Confessional_

_And right back to square one!_

"Can I ask you something?" Geoff said. "I gave Bridgette this awesome gift this morning, but she's been sending me some weird vibes."

"Ohmigosh Courtney!" Bridgette exclaimed. "It was so bad! He made me this change dish with this really bad photo-shopped picture of us on it!"

Courtney grimaced. "That's... that's pretty bad Bridgette."

"Oh, I know!" Bridgette exclaimed. "I mean, Geoff's really sweet and cute and all, but he's so clueless!"

Duncan groaned. "Look, if I have to listen to you two natter on about chick stuff, I'm at least gonna play the devil's advocate here."

Courtney rolled her eyes. "So you're actually sticking up for Geoff's pathetic display of love?"

Duncan winced. "It was pretty bad, wasn't it?" The girls nodded. "Look, my boy Geoff's got this huge crush on you, Bridgette. He's just going the wrong way about it."

"I'll say." Courtney muttered.

Duncan frowned. "He's just doing it because he likes her!"

"Yeah, but there's better ways of going about it! I bet you would have even been able to see it was a bad idea!" Courtney fired.

"Oh, you wound me, princess."

"Neanderthal!"

"Do all your comebacks come from a textbook?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! Let's put this in a way you understand. Your mom."

Bridgette sighed. "Can we get back to the original issue here?"

Duncan winced. "Uh, what was that again?"

"Never mind."

DJ sighed as Geoff recounted the story to him. "Not good, man."

"That bad?" Geoff asked.

"Dude, that's so bad, you need a new word for how bad that was!"

Geoff sighed. "Sorry, it's just that I really like her, you know?"

"Dude, relationships are like feeding a bunny." DJ said._ Um, not the best analogy I've ever heard. _"You want the bunny to come to you. You make slow movements, not drop a heart-shaped plate on it's head!"

"So I screwed up?" Geoff asked.

"Yeah, man. You screwed up."

**Reaching the Island **

"Um, was that fog there a second ago?" Gwen asked.

"I don't think so." Trent replied. "Kind of creepy, huh?"

She nodded. "I don't like it. Gives off this weird feeling, you know?"

Izzy hopped out of her canoe as they docked. "Did you see that skull? I wonder if this place is haunted. _It is Izzy. People have been recorded as saying they've seen the ghosts of long dead friends here... why else would we have picked it?_

"Let's just get this over with!" Gwen shuddered, picking up her canoe.

The Screaming Gophers soon found themselves running through the forest, only to be cut off by a fallen tree. They soon found themselves face to face with the elusive 'Muskoka' wooly beaver. "Oh hell to the no!" Leshawna yelled. "Nobody said there were monster beavers up in here!" The beavers growled, sending them running.

"Dead end!" Owen soon called out, as they ran into a swamped area.

"They're leaving!" Trent called out victoriously as the beavers turned around and left.

An angry swarm of what may or may not have been rabid geese popped out of their nests, and the Screaming Gophers ran off for the second time in two minutes. _Ha ha, sweet!_

"I am definitely going to need new underwear!" Owen yelled.

The Killer Bass soon took advantage of the Screaming Gopher's problems and pulled in the lead. "Come on!" Izzy cried out. "This isn't over yet... we still have to burn stuff!"

Noah rolled his eyes. "Hey," Leshawna whispered to him, "you're the one who likes her!" He glared at her.

The Killer Bass approached a fork in the road. "Which path do we take?" Geoff asked.

"Left." Courtney replied. "Definitely left."

Geoff frowned. "I don't know... the right seems like a good idea."

"Well, the right trail is wider." Bridgette agreed. Geoff smiled at her. "What are you staring at?" She asked, as she began to walk down the path.

"I see the other team!" Trent called out.

"Me too!" Gwen called out. "And they're taking the right!"

"Then let's take the left!" Trent called back.

They walked a little bit longer until Trent noticed something strange. "Um, I don't mean to panic guys... but I'm shrinking!"

_Trent Confessional_

_How was I supposed to know what quicksand looks like?_

"Oh! I'll save you Trent!" Lindsay exclaimed.

Trent gasped. "No Linds, don't-"

She jumped in anyway. "Oh... now I'm stuck too!"

"How are we supposed to rescue them?" Owen panicked.

"Relax," Noah said, "we'll split up and find something, okay?"

Gwen frowned. "But who will watch them?"

Noah shrugged. "There's two people stuck. Lindsay can watch Trent and he can watch her." They scattered. _Wow. I'm surprised no one argued with that logic... or lack of._

Trent squirmed around, trying to find something. "Here, take this vine."

Trent looked up. "Oh, thanks Cody."

Cody chuckled. "No problem."

Trent frowned. "Wait. You're Cody! But you're dead!"

Cody chuckled again, walking into the bushes.

The other team mates caught up to Trent and Lindsay. "Here take-" Owen began. "Hey how'd you get free?"

"Um, vine." Trent said, holding it up in his hand.

"Well don't just stand there! We have a challenge to win!" Leshawna said.

Meanwhile, the Killer Bass were dealing with their own drama. "Oh, the agony!"

Bridgette frowned. "If you would sit still I could help you out you know!" She directed at Geoff, who calmed down. "I've seen shark bites before... but this is really bad."

Geoff nodded. "I think it may be gangrene!"

Courtney rolled her eyes. "How are we going to keep going?"

DJ shrugged. "Simple. We'll carry him." _Now there's team spirit!_

**Fire Challenge**

Heather tried to get a spark from her two rocks without success. She glanced at the Killer Bass, who already had a fire going. "How did they do that?"

Duncan smirked, and pulled out his lighter.

Chris smiled from up in his chopper. "No rule about lighters. Edge, Killer Bass."

All the remaining campers rushed around, looking for wood to fuel their team's fire. Beth was one of these campers, and was poking around in the bush when she found a small tiki statuette. She gasped, and immediately pocketed it. _Idiot! Didn't you hear me explain not to take anything? Oh. I forgot... you weren't there. My bad._

Noah smirked, watching Gwen glance at Trent every few minutes. He walked up to her. "You like him, don't you?"

She glared. "Shut it, Noah."

"Why don't you just tell him?" Noah asked, smirking.

"It's not that simple." She replied, sighing.

He shrugged. "Whatever." He walked off, in search of more wood.

Geoff dragged himself across the sand to throw his wood into the fire.

DJ frowned at Geoff's leg. "Hey Bridgette! You have first aid training, right?" She nodded. "Why don't you help Geoff? He might have gangrene!" _Or be over acting!_

"Or jungle rot!" Geoff added.

"Or athlete's foot!" DJ added shuddering. Bridgette sighed, and went to help Geoff. DJ smirked.

"I don't think this is going to be big enough!" Courtney worried.

"Oh relax." Duncan said. "How are they going to get theirs any bigger?"

DJ shrugged. "You heard the woman! More wood! Let's go!"

Harold looked around nervously and grabbed the first pile of wood he saw, which happened to be the oars, and chucked it into the fire.

"You idiot!" Bridgette exclaimed. "How are we supposed to get back now?"

Izzy stood over her team's fire. "Okay, this should get the fire going real nice." She said, chucking a small round object around in her hands. "I made it myself from some tree sap, twigs and other materials. It's illegal in, like, 17 countries!" She chuckled. "Including Canada!" She chucked it in, creating a mini- nuclear explosion.

"Well," Chris said, "we have our fire-building winner!"

The campers made it to their canoes, Izzy humming the Mission Impossible theme song the entire way. "See that explosion? I'm, like, 1/87th Cherokee, so fire building's in my blood!"

Noah frowned. "Izzy, it's impossible to be 1/87th Cherokee."

"Noah! Don't discriminate on me just because I'm native!" She yelled, walking towards the canoes.

"But you're not!" He exclaimed, rolling his eyes, but smiling.

Gwen smiled. "You like her, don't you?"

He groaned. "Shut it, Gwen."

"Why don't you just tell her?"

"Seriously, I'm this close to sicking Izzy on you!"

She smirked. "Whatever."

"Well," Courtney said, "how are we going to get back now?"

Duncan shrugged. "We could always swim the canoes back."

"Or," Bridgette said, eyeing DJ, "we could get someone push them all back!"

DJ shuddered. "Nuh uh. I'm afraid of water!"

"I'll do it!" Geoff volunteered.

"Geoff!" Bridgette gasped. "You can't do that while your leg is in such a fragile condition!"

DJ frowned. "I'll do it." He said.

"You sure?" Duncan asked, sceptically.

DJ nodded. The rest of the campers got in their canoes, and DJ got behind ready to push. He ended up propelling them to victory, ending the Killer Bass's losing streak.

"The Bass are the winners!" Chris exclaimed. "Gophers. You. Me. Elimination Ceremony. Tonight!"

Trent frowned. "Uh, Chris?"

"Yes?" He asked.

Trent frowned. "I saw Cody."

Owen frowned. "Um, dude, he's dead."

"I know." Trent said. "But I also know what I saw. He's the one the gave me the vine."

Chris frowned. "Well, it is a haunted island." He frowned. "Great, now my campers are hallucinating on me." He muttered.

**Elimination**

_Heather Confessional_

_I vote for Beth. Told you there would be serious consequences for sticking me with Owen!_

_Beth Confessional_

_I vote for Trent. After all, he thinks he's seeing ghosts._

_Owen Confessional_

_Well, this is tough. There's no one to vote for really. I guess I'll just vote randomly._

"Welcome to the marshmallow ceremony!" Chris called out. "You know the rules. Trent, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Owen, Leshawna and Noah." He paused. "We're down to our final two campers, and the marshmallow goes to... Izzy. Beth, I'm sorry, I didn't get it ether."

Everyone gasped. "How did that happen?" Gwen muttered.

Beth shrugged. "I don't know. Point is, it did happen. Good-bye." She made her way down to the dock.

"Unbelievable." Owen muttered.

The last shot the cameras managed to get at the end of the day was of Beth's tiki idol, illuminated by the moonlight. They flashed red one last time.

**Noah and Izzy**

"Noah! Noah! Noah?" Gwen frantically called out.

Noah quirked his eyebrow and stood up on the porch. "Yes?"

Gwen peered out from the girl's side of the Screaming Gopher's cabin. "Um... can you come here? Izzy's kinda freaking out."

Noah's forehead creased. "And? Isn't that a regular occurrence?"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, but she's really freaking out this time. She's having some sort of nightmare, and she may have been possessed."

Noah sighed. "And you want me to-?"

"Look." Gwen began. "You're Izzy's friend. I don't really know why she chose to be friends with you of all people, but she did, and I'm asking you to be a friend and help her out."

He sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

Gwen smirked. "Just stay with her until she calms down, please? She might be a little panicked when she wakes up."

Noah walked into the girl's side of the cabin and quickly realized what Gwen was talking about. Izzy lay on her bottom bunk, trashing and mumbling in what may have been Swahili. Noah wasn't quite sure, after all, he had opted for French in high school.

Heather stood up, along with the other girls. "Well, we should probably get going. Give you some space."

Noah shrugged. "You can stay if you want."

Leshawna shook her head. "No. Izzy will probably be really confused when she wakes up, and will probably strike the first thing she sees."

Noah groaned. "Oh. Great."

Beth smiled apologetically as she and the rest of the girls walked out. Noah sat down at the edge of Izzy's bed awkwardly. "Izzy... Izzy? Izzy wake up!"

She moaned in her sleep, still thrashing. "No. Please don't- Noah! Run! No!" She started sobbing.

"Izzy... it's okay." He soothed, grabbing her hand. "I'm fine. Izzy come on, please. Wake up."

After fifteen minutes had passed, Izzy started to quiet and not stir as much. Suddenly she sat up with a violent jolt, clubbing Noah in the stomach, just as Beth had predicted. Noah groaned. "God, that hurt!"

"Noah?" She mumbled. "Noah!" She pulled him in for a hug. "You're alright!"

"Well," Noah winced, clutching his stomach, "not totally."

She laughed. "I'm sorry. It's just... I had the worst nightmare ever. It was, like, total bloodbath. It was totally all Texas Chainsaw Massacre up in my head."

"Well," he said, "it's good to see that you're fine. I'll just be going?" He said awkwardly, walking towards the door.

"Wait!" She called out. "Can you lie down with me until I fall asleep?"

He frowned. "What?"

"My mom used to lie down with me when I had a nightmare. Helped me fall right to sleep." Izzy explained.

Noah shrugged. "Okay... I guess." He lay down beside Izzy, and she scooted over until she was uncomfortably pressed up to the wall. "Izzy... what are you doing?"

"You don't like being touched, remember?" She mumbled to the wall.

He chuckled. "Izzy, I'm so used to you ambushing me that I'm used to it. It's fine. Really."

"Oh. Okay then." She said, scooting over again. She yawned, resting her head on his chest. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being my friend." She yawned.

He chuckled, getting up. "Tired?" She nodded. "Ready to try sleeping again?" She nodded sleepily. He tucked her in.

"Goodnight Noah." She yawned. "Love ya."

He chuckled, and waited until she had completely fallen asleep before he pressed his lips to her forehead. "Love you, too."

Lindsay smiled from the doorway.

**Lindsay's Diary**

_Hey diary!_

_Beth was voted off today, unexpectedly. It was awhile before I stopped crying._

_Well you'll never guess, but the sweetest thing just happened! And it involved Noah and Izzy. I know, shocker right?_

_Speaking of sweet, you'll never guess what Tyler did! He made me a ring out of some pieces of wire he found around camp, gave it to me and told me it was a promise ring. I almost died, right then and there. It's really pretty too, not in a newly engaged girl showing off her gigantic diamond kind of way, but more of a simple beauty. Sort of like a secret, private, but still there._

_Tyler and I are starting to get really worried. He just narrowly escaped elimination the last challenge, and more and more people are starting to leave. How long is it going to be before one of us has to go? __I don't regret a single second of it though. I love Tyler. Maybe we'll never get married or have kids, but we have right now, and I have my ring. It's as close to marriage as I'll ever get, but somehow that makes it even more beautiful. It's kind of comforting knowing that love can live in tragedy._

_I'm starting to worry about Heather. She might not have caught on that I'm smarter than everyone (except Tyler) thinks I am, but she's really bossy and controlling. I'm starting to think that using Heather as a free ride is going to come back and haunt me. I see the way she looks at me, like I'm so not even worth it. Too late to back out now though._

_Oh well. Que sera, sera. Whatever may be, may be, right?_

_Love,_

_Lindsay_

* * *

Holy chicken biscuits and gravy! Did you see that coming? When I was going over my story plan (Yes, I have a story plan) I was reading through the characters on the Screaming Gopher's side and I was like, I can only afford to lose Beth. But don't worry, all the loose ends with the Tiki idol and everything else will be tied up.

Lindsay's last little words of wisdom come from this song my mom taught to me when I was little:

_One day I turned to my mother and said,_

_What will I be?_

_Will I be rich, will I be poor?_

_And here's what she said to me:_

_Que sera, sera! _

_Whatever may be, may be!_

_You may be rich, you may be poor,_

_And that's what she said to me._

-Pursuit


	10. Paintball Deer Hunter

Hey, marshmallow peeps! How you doin'?

Anyways, in more important news, sigh. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME! I keep adding in characters all "posthumously" and what not... I guess I owe you an explanation for this slip up too. See, when I started to write the end, (don't ask me why I decided to write the last part first) Beth was not the character eliminated at that time. Someone else was originally meant to be eliminated, but then I figured out I still needed that character, and Beth was the only one I could eliminate. So, I went back and took out her dialogue, but forgot to replace her name. Yeah, so that's what happened.

**Disclaimer:**I don't own TDI/A/M/Whatever the hell they come up with when they're still fame-whoring this out in twenty years. (Not that I'm complaining, because I definitely wouldn't mind.)

* * *

**Chapter 10: Paintball Deer Hunter**

_"Uh, not happening. Seventeen magazine listed anything deer related a definite no in fashion this summer."_

_-Heather_

**The %#!'s About to Hit the Fan... or Propeller**

Chris smiled excitedly as he flew the helicopter over camp, humming quietly over the noise of the propeller. Funny... he seemed a happier person when flying.

Duncan, however, was not a happy camper. He jumped out of his bunk. "Hit the deck! They're onto us!" He cried, jumping under the bed.

DJ and Geoff just shrugged. It wasn't the first time Duncan had woken up screaming, and probably wouldn't be the last either.

The propeller's noise caused Leshawna to hit her head against the bunk above her when she woke up suddenly. "Ya'll better be joking! This ain't funny, Chris!"

"Whatever." Heather yawned. "It's better that that stupid megaphone. Lindsay, warm up the shower for me, please? And-"

"-not too hot this time, I know." Lindsay sighed, making her way out the door.

The girls groaned as they waited for Heather to get out of the bathroom. "Seriously, how long has she been in there?" Bridgette asked.

Gwen sighed. "Oh, forget it. Might as well go in the woods."

"Oh campers!" Chris's voice boomed out of the speakers. "Ready for the most challenging challenge yet? Meet me at the bonfire for brekkie in three. Minutes, that is, so hurry!"

"Um," Lindsay said, as everyone scattered (most likely to find a spot in the woods), "you done in there, Heather? The challenge is-"

"I'll be there in a minute!" Heather called back.

Lindsay sighed as she walked away. "Really, I had to choose the evil bitch to follow around?" She muttered to herself.

**Challenge Time**

"Are you ready," Chris began, "for today's extreme physical challenge?"

Owen nodded. "Totally!"

"Catch!" Chris cried out randomly, sending a can flying at Gwen's face, which Trent just barely managed to catch in time. _Dang. Could have gotten better ratings with that..._

"This is your breakfast." Chris said, tossing cans of beans to the campers.

"Um, no..." Heather scoffed, "breakfast is Belgian waffles, pancakes, bacon! Not sugar drenched beans!"

"So you won't be eating those?" Owen asked, taking Heather's can. "Beans, beans, good for your-"

"Yeah, yeah. We get it. You like beans." Chris paused to recollect himself. "Today is a survival challenge. We're going hunting!" He said, springing out a paintball gun.

Duncan smirked. "Now that's more like it!" _Oh yeah. Definitely my nephew._

"Is that a model X345 paintball gun?" Harold asked Chris.

"I don't know Harold. Do I look like the kind of guy that gets a sick thrill out of shooting things?" The campers stared at Chris pointedly. "Don't answer that."

Bridgette frowned. "So for sure we won't be killing anything?"

"Nothing will be killed during this challenge." Chris assured. "I hope." He muttered, just loudly enough for Bridgette to hear, so she would freak out a little. "This is the first ever televised reality show paintball shoot-a-thon! I'll assign roles in a minute after we get to the woods. Enjoy brekkie!"

**Baggin' A Doe!**

"Okay," Chris said, after everyone one had eaten and they had reached the woods, "the Killer Bass hunters will be Harold, Geoff and Bridgette!" He threw them their guns.

"And the Screaming Gopher hunters will be Leshawna, Izzy, Owen and Lindsay!" Chris exclaimed, handing out the last set of guns. "Oh, and don't forget your uniform." He said, handing out visors and camo caps.

"Awesome!" Owen exclaimed. "This reminds me of this time I-"

Chris cut him off. "That leaves the deer. You get a pair of antlers, a cute little nose and a fluffy tail! Wicked, isn't it?"

"Uh, not happening. Seventeen magazine listed anything deer related a definite no in fashion this summer." Heather mocked. _No it didn't! Not that I would know..._

Duncan growled. "You must be seriously messed in the head if you even think-" He was interrupted when Chris slipped the costume on him.

"Why, hello Bambi." Owen chuckled.

Duncan frowned. "You better have really good aim, chubby!"

**Killer Bass- Deer**

"Well, at least Chris gave us a head start!" Courtney said.

"I'm not sure abut you," DJ began," but I don't want to be a sitting duck... or deer. I'm outta here." He said, crouching down and running off like a deer.

The other Bass stared at him in disbelief. "Did that really just happen?" Tyler asked. _That's what I'm thinking bro._

Duncan frowned. "Honestly, I don't know what to believe anymore."

**Screaming Gophers- Deer**

"Isn't this just the most fun you've ever had?" Noah asked.

The others stared at him oddly. "I can think of better things to do." Gwen said.

"Sarcasm." Noah explained.

Trent smiled. "Sarcasm 101?"

Noah smiled and bumped his fist. "You know it!"

Heather rolled her eyes. "Great, while you two become 'bros' or whatever, I'll just wait here for Lindsay to come and protect me."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Can you even do that?" _No! _

Heather rolled her eyes. "Does it matter? You have your way of playing the game, I've got mine."

**Killer Bass- Hunters**

"And action!" Harold cried, breaking up the huddle.

Bridgette looked sadly at her gun. "Look," Harold sighed, "it's just a paintball gun. You can't hurt anyone."

"That's not it." Bridgette frowned. "I just never though I'd have to learn how to use a gun in my lifetime."

"Would it cheer you up to know Heather's one of the deer?" Harold grinned.

"Really?" Bridgette smiled. "Oh, I'm going to have fun with this!"

Geoff smiled, and slung his arm across her shoulders. "That's the spirit dudette! Now, let's bag some deer!"

_Ah, teamwork. The meatball to the spaghetti of competition._

**Screaming Gophers- Hunters**

"And the game begins... now!" Chris's voice crackled over the loudspeaker.

"Let's go get us some venison!" Izzy cried out, gun in the air.

Leshawna chuckled. "Sure thing, crazy girl!"

Owen, meanwhile, was fiddling with a jar of suspicious looking liquid before dumping it on himself.

"Um, what are you doing?" Lindsay asked, suspiciously.

"Masking my scent so I'm harder to find!" Owen called back.

Leshawna sighed. "Oh Lord, tell me that's not-"

"Pee? What else would it be?" Owen asked.

"Oh, ew!" Lindsay cried.

Izzy frowned. "That's too gross for even me!"

"You sure?" Owen asked. "I've got more!"

Leshawna frowned. "Dude, we're hunting people. All they gonna do is run when they smell you comin'!"

"So that was for nothing?" Owen asked, throwing the jar behind him, almost hitting Leshawna.

"One sick ticket!" Leshawna cried out, as Lindsay and Izzy scattered. _Yeah... have to agree with you there._

Lindsay sighed. "I'm so tired! We haven't even shot anything yet!"

"It's only been five minutes." Izzy scoffed. "We still have plenty of time to bag those deer!"

"Ahem!" Heather called out, from a nearby tree stump.

Lindsay frowned. "What?"

"I've been waiting here for the last half hour! What took you so long?" Heather snapped.

Izzy grimaced. "Yeah, I'm gonna go now... bye!" She yelled, sprinting off.

"I'm late because you got a head start, remember?" Lindsay said.

Heather rolled her eyes. "Go get me some chips from the kitchen!"

Lindsay rolled her eyes slightly. "Sure, Heather."

"The hunter is a well oiled machine." Owen said, narrating his own life. "His senses are heightened in the chase. Suddenly, our hunter spots a magnificent buck in the clearing." He said, looking at DJ through the bushes. "To bag the deer, the hunter must show control." He then farted, alerting DJ of where he was.

**Chips**

Lindsay, meanwhile, was approaching the mess hall just as Chef came out dressed to go swimming. "Um, Chef?"

"Yeah, Blondie?" He growled.

She squirmed. "Uh, could I have a bag of chips?"

"What for?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

She frowned. "Uh, strategy? You know... like bait!"

Chef nodded. "Strategy... bait... ratings! Yeah, you can have some chips." He said, going into the mess hall for them. _Fine, even though Lindsay broke the rules, it's approved. Ratings! Good thinking Chef!_

"Thanks!" Lindsay said as Chef exited with a bag of chips. Chef walked off, with out bothering to say "You're welcome."

Lindsay made her way back. "Stupid Heather... stupid chips."

"Hard day?" Tyler called out to her.

She smiled slightly. "Yeah, Heather's got me running errands for her." She said, holding up the bag of chips.

"Well, stick it out. It'll be worth it in the long run." He smiled. "Why haven't you shot me yet? I am a deer you know."

She grinned. "There's always that one that gets away." _Aww, how sweet! I mean... good for ratings. Yeah._

**Owen and DJ**

"The hunter begins to make his move, as he is aware of every one of his surroundings." He suddenly screamed, chucking the snake that had slithered over him away.

DJ sprinted away from the snake. "Oh, it's on DJ!" Owen cried out.

"You're mine now DJ!" Owen called out, running after the still sprinting DJ, shooting a few paintballs.

**Lindsay and Heather**

"Here you go, Heather. Your chips." Lindsay said, handing her the bag.

Heather took it. "Good job, Lindsay. Now be a dear, and fetch me some berries."

"First of all," Lindsay began, "I'm a hunter, not a deer. And secondly... no. Go get your own berries."

"What?" Heather hissed. "Alliance, remember?"

Lindsay frowned. "Yeah, but what good is an alliance if I get eliminated because I didn't shoot a single deer?" She started to walk off. "I'm outta here."

"Hey, come back here!" Heather yelled, letting Bridgette know her location, and shoot her. "Ow! I don't care who you are, this isn't funny!"

Harold and Bridgette hi-fived. _Good job you guys... I was about to go out there and shoot her myself._

**Owen and DJ (Yet Again)**

DJ sprinted up the cliff, dodging paintballs.

"The hunters," pant, "want and courage," pant," will not give out!" Owen panted out, shooting a few more paintballs to emphasize his point.

DJ skidded to a halt as he made it to the edge of the cliff, and Owen caught up to him.

"You're mine now!" Owen exclaimed, pulling the trigger on his gun, only to have no paintballs come out. "Huh?"

DJ glared at him.

"The hunter, uh, knows his prey will stay there a moment, shocked, while he, uh, gets more paintballs?" Owen asked. _Is it just me, or is this whole narration getting a little old?_

DJ, still glaring walked towards Owen. "The deer can not best the hunter!"

Owen frowned as DJ towered over him. "Uh, dude, let's talk this over?"

The next image the cameras got was of Owen sailing over the cliff. "Aw, man!"

DJ smiled happily as he watched Owen land in the water, and even scuffed some dirt over the edge after him, before prancing off like a deer again.

**Noah**

Noah, ran through the woods, trying to lose any people that might be following him. He soon stopped, clutching his knee. "Damn it!"

Izzy, about 50 feet away, frowned. "Noah?"

She then heard another set of feet, this time, Harold. "Hey, Harold... whatcha doing?"

"I was following Noah." Harold explained. "You seen him?"

"Uh, Harold no offense, but we're on separate teams." Izzy pointed out. "I'm not supposed to help you."

Harold shrugged. "Whatever. I have mad paintball skills, I'm sure I can get him."

Noah groaned again, loudly. Harold chuckled. "And there he is. Told you I have mad paintball skills!"

Izzy frowned. "But that has nothing to do with-" But Harold was already gone. She took off after him.

"Damn it!" Noah groaned again, as Harold came out of the bushes, gun ready.

Harold grinned. "Nothing personal, but prepare to go down!" He pulled the trigger of his gun, aimed at Noah's head.

Izzy leaped in front of it, getting the paintball in the stomach. "Izzy?" Noah asked, incredulously.

"Why, the hell, would you aim for someone's head?" Izzy wheezed at Harold. "And why don't you go find someone who's not injured to shoot?"

Harold nodded. "Fine. Plenty of more fish in the sea... or deer in the forest."

"You okay, Iz?" Noah asked, slowly getting to his feet.

She nodded. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine... you?"

"It's just my knee." He said.

"Oh, yeah. That's what happened in the dodgeball challenge, right?" Izzy said. "That's why you couldn't play another round?"

Noah nodded. "Yeah. It kind of sucks."

Izzy looked at him skeptically. "Are you going to be okay?"

Noah nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Go find some deer to shoot."

Izzy left reluctantly.

**Lindsay and Heather**

"Lindsay!" Heather screeched, causing DJ to run away.

Lindsay sighed. "I almost had him Heather!"

"I don't care! Does the word 'alliance' mean anything to you?" Heather spat. "It should, considering you're in mine!"

Lindsay frowned. "But it's not just your alliance. It's yours and mine!" _Way to stick it to the man, Lindsay!_

"Which is why I've decided to give you one more chance." Heather said, her voice softer now.

Lindsay paused. "I'll have to think about it."

"But you're nothing without me!" Heather gasped.

"Yeah," Lindsay said, "but I'm nothing with you, too."

**Owen, Who Is Once Again Creeping People Out By Narrating His Life**

Owen walked into the focus of the camera, dripping wet. "You can leave the hunter with no ammo, hurl him down a cliff and soak him to death, but you can not break his spirit!"

A branch snapped as Duncan walked by, seemingly unaware of Owen's ranting. "Ah, fresh kill." Owen said, rubbing his palms together.

**Heather and Lindsay**

"Please, Lindsay, think this over." Heather said. "You need this alliance."

"Maybe I don't," Lindsay said softly, "I have Tyler and I had Beth... and Izzy's not too bad. They're good people."

Heather rolled her eyes. "Maybe so, but altogether they've got as much brains as a cantaloupe."

"I'm sorry Heather, I may have failed Biology, but even I know cantaloupes don't have brains." Lindsay said.

"It's a figure of speech!" Heather cried. "What I meant to say was, they just don't know how to play the game like I do. You need me."

Lindsay smiled. "This whole time you've been trying to convince me I need you, but maybe you need me. You wouldn't waste your time if I was replaceable."

Leshawna walked by as Heather screamed, "Fine, maybe I don't need you anyway!"

"Fine! I don't need you either!" Lindsay shot back.

Leshawna squinted at the two. "I picked a real bad day to not wear my contacts! Oh, well here's nothing!" She shot a paintball that hit Heather in the back of the head.

"Lindsay, help!" Heather yelled.

"I thought you didn't need me anymore?" Lindsay asked. _Clever... maybe Lindsay's got some brains in her after all! _"That was awesome, Leshawna!"

"I didn't mean too!" Leshawna cried out. "But it was kinda fun."

Heather glared at her. "Give me your gun, Lindsay!"

Lindsay went to put it behind her, but accidentally pulled the trigger, causing Heather to get shot in the leg. "Oops!"

"Girl, you are really crazy if you're going to do that to Heather." Leshawna said. "But respect."

"Stop laughing!" Heather commanded.

**Owen, Now Chasing Duncan**

"This is it. One paintball and destiny will be fulfilled!" Owen said, up in the tree above Duncan. He went to shoot but, farted. _Oh, Owen! Really? Gotta learn self control dude!_

Duncan sniffed the air. "Beans." He glanced up in the tree. "Nice try Fartacus, would've got me." He ran off, chuckling.

Owen, in reply, farted and soon fell out of the tree.

"Dude, not cool." Noah said.

Owen squinted his eyes. "You okay? You're limping..."

"Oh this?" Noah said, pointing to his leg. "Oh, no big deal. My knee's just kind of acting up again."

"Oh, okay." Owen said. "Hey, seen any deer lately?"

Noah nodded. "I think I saw Courtney go by that way..." Owen ran off before he could finish. "...but that was an hour ago."

**Heather, Lindsay, Leshawna and... Izzy?**

Izzy popped in as Leshawna and Lindsay were laughing. "What up, guys? Oh, did someone tell a really good joke? I know this mean knock knock joke!"

"No, our girl Lindsay here just shot Heather in the leg!" Leshawna laughed out. "Oh, you had to be there."

Izzy nodded. "So, it's an inside joke."

Heather rolled her eyes. "Here, give me that!" She said, grabbing Izzy's gun and wailing paintballs on Lindsay and Leshawna.

"Oh, it's on!" Leshawna said, pelting Heather back.

"What happened to you?" Lindsay asked over the noise, pointing at the paint on Izzy's leg.

She shrugged. "I just took a bullet for Noah. See, he was injured and Harold was aiming it at his head-"

"Noah's injured?" Leshawna asked.

"Oh, he's fine now." Izzy said.

"Are you sure? Because if he can't compete-"

"He's fine." Izzy said. "He's all better."

**Duncan and Courtney, Tagging a Tree, T-A-G-G-I-N-G**

Duncan was doing what he does best, defacing something. He was spray painting a tree (although it not quite clear where he got the spray can from.)

"And you smell worse than usual because-?" Courtney asked, playing the I-hate-you thing for the cameras.

Duncan shrugged. "Owen." _Pretty self-explanatory._

"I'm heading back." Courtney said. "This game has to be over by now!" She took off past Duncan.

"You're going the wrong way!" He called after her. "Camps the other way."

She scoffed. "Excuse me? I have a natural sense of direction. Camp is this way."

"No, it's that way." Duncan argued.

They simultaneously rolled their eyes, and somehow ended up running into each other.

"Jesus!" Courtney mumbled. "Very funny! Let me go!"

"Hey, I didn't plan this, Princess." He said.

"Well, what are we going to do now?"

He wiggled his eyebrows. "Wanna make out?"

Courtney was shocked into silence. _Speechless!_

**End of Challenge**

"This is really fun!" Bridgette called out to Geoff and Harold, as they had found the quarreling Gopher girls and were pelting them with paintballs.

The speaker screeched. "Attention, campers. The challenge has now ended, meet me by the infirmary." Chris said.

The campers (sans Duncan and Courtney) all met him by the infirmary. "That was awesome!" Chris exclaimed. "The way you guys beat on each other... priceless! Wicked, programming man!"

Geoff and DJ bumped fists.

"Um, where are Duncan and Courtney?" Harold asked.

Courtney and Duncan then staggered (or shuffled) in, antlers still locked. "Oh, this is too much!" Gwen exclaimed.

"Duncan..." Owen said, "Props man!"

Duncan smirked. "Chick can't keep her antlers off me."

Courtney kicked him the groin. "Can't bend over!" He moaned.

"Chill, Court," Chris said, "we need the infirmary for Noah right now."

Geoff and Bridgette quickly seperated them before any more damage could be done. "Well, since the Gophers are completely soaked in paint, I guess the Bass are our winners!" Chris exclaimed. "Gophers, I'll see you at elimination tonight."

**Elimination Ceremony**

_Heather Confessional_

_Now who to vote for? There's just so many options. Lindsay, Leshawna, Izzy... hell, throw in the pasty white girl too!_

_Trent Confessional_

_Heather. It's my safest bet really, since I don't what drama went on while I was running. Besides, who in their right mind wouldn't vote for Heather?_

_Chris Confessional_

_I know I can't vote and all, but I have to say, the results were pretty shocking. I mean, it barely makes any sense..._

"Okay, when I call your name you will get a marshmallow. If I do not call your name you must-"

"Walk the Dock of Shame, catch the Boat of Losers and await your impending doom." Gwen said, cutting Chris off.

"Spoiler alert!" Chris called out angrily, "But yeah. Trent, Gwen, Lindsay, Izzy." He called out, throwing the respective marshmallows. "Leshawna and... Heather. That leaves Noah and Owen. The last marshmallow goes to... Owen."

"What?" Izzy exclaimed. "Why?"

"It's cool, Iz." Noah said. "It's fine."

"It's not fine!" Izzy yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why?"

"Because with his knee..." Leshawna said, "and if he can't do any of the physical challenges-"

Izzy frowned. "Why not Heather? She shot her own team members!"

Noah sighed. "I'm fine. I feel fine."

"What about what I feel?" Izzy said. "Ah? I'll miss you and-"

Noah engulfed her in a tight hug. "You'll be fine."

"I love you, too." She whispered.

"What?"

"I love you, too."

Noah paled. "You heard?"

She smiled. "No, Lindsay told me."

Chef sighed. "He needs to be getting on the boat."

"Let them have their moment." Chris said.

Chef sighed again. "We'll be punished for this."

"It's worth it."

Noah smiled down at Izzy. "How long have you known?"

"Before the challenge started. Honestly, Noah, would I worry that much about you to jump in front of a bullet if I didn't care about you?" She said.

"Thanks." He said, giving her a long awaited kiss. "I love you."

The cameras flashed red for the last time.

**For Lack of A Corny Title**

"That's pretty... lame." He laughed, sprawled out on the cabin porch.

She rolled her eyes from beside him. "Oh, whatever, Duncan. When I'm Prime Minister, we'll see who's laughing."

"Well, Courtney, I'll just be rolling around my grave in laughter."

"Oh... right. I forgot."

"No worries, Princess. Besides, you haven't won yet." He pointed, out jokingly.

She scoffed. "Westing's do not lose. It's, like, tradition."

"And who am I to argue with that?"

She rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. "No one, you are absolutely- Ohmigod, Izzy what happened?" She asked, as Izzy approached sobbing.

Izzy just sobbed. "Duncan, help!" Courtney hissed.

"I'm not good with crying girls! Why do you think I'm a firm believer of one night stands?" He hissed back.

"Izzy, what's wrong?" Courtney, asking again, as she hugged Izzy soothingly.

Duncan frowned at the still sobbing girl. "Break a nail or something?"

Courtney slugged him. "Insensitive much?"

Izzy shook slightly. "N-n-no." She stuttered. "They- they voted- Noah- he's _gone_!"

Courtney gasped. "Really? How could they?"

"Son of a bitch." Duncan hissed. "When I get a hold of those bastards-"

"I'm in love with him." Izzy sniffled.

Courtney hugged her tighter. "Ssh. Calm down."

"When did they get together?" Duncan mouthed to her.

She frowned. "I have no idea."

* * *

DON'T KILL ME!I know you're probably really mad right now, but it had to be done. Honestly, I didn't want to get rid of Noah so soon.

Psst, here's a secret: You want to know why I kept Noah in anyways? First, it started as an experiment. How much could I change the plot without you wanting to murder me? And I got away with it. Then, when Cody was voted off, Noah filled in as a plot replacement. I always knew he would leave at this moment. What I didn't know is that he would soon become one of my favourite characters to write, and that he would fall in love with Izzy and that he would become a huge part of the plot.

I actually teared up a little when Noah went. I know that's a little pathetic, but c'est la vie.

-Pursuit

(Don't worry... the NoahxIzzy romance will live on. Beyond the GRAVE maybe?)


	11. If You Can't Take The Heat

Hey guys! So, basically I've got the memo that everyone is incredibly sad Noah was eliminated, but it had to happen. Don't worry...

Disclaimer: I do not own. Take from that what you will.

* * *

**Killer Bass Boys**

The boys snored in their sleep, enjoying sleeping in before the challenge. Silently, Duncan got up, and climbed down the bunk to do his morning workout.

He freaked when he realized that he had been doing push-ups over a pair of used underpants, causing Geoff, DJ and Tyler to chuckle. "This is so not funny!"

Tyler chuckled a bit more. "Dude, it kinda is."

Duncan growled. "Harold... you can't go leaving your crusty gitch all over the place!"

"They're not mine!" Harold protested.

"Oh, yeah right! They've got your name sewn into them!" Duncan yelled back.

Harold scowled. "They aren't mine!"

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Yeah... the evidence seems to suggest otherwise."

"What?" Geoff asked.

He shrugged. "I watch CSI."

Harold rolled his eyes, and grabbed his towel. "I'm going for a shower!"

"Whatever." Duncan replied. He turned to the remaining guys as Harold left. "Guys, we have to do something about this. I think it's time we taught Harold a lesson."

The guys grinned and hi-fived.

**Challenge Time**

Chris walked up to the dock, standing before the contestants. "Good morning, campers!"

"Dude, are you... limping?" Geoff asked.

_*Flashback*_

_Chef sighed. "He needs to be getting on the boat."_

_"Let them have their moment." Chris said._

_Chef sighed again. "We'll be punished for this."_

_"It's worth it."_

"It's nothing." Chris said. "Just... an ATV accident."

DJ shrugged. "Well, okay then." _Hmm, campers may be showing compassion. Maybe we really should be giving them more nutrtious meals, I think they may be sick._

"In today's challenge," Chris began, "you will test your mind, your teamwork and most importantly, your skills in the kitchen." He flashed a smile. "You will be cooking a three course meal, which I will then judge. The winners will get a reward, and the losers will send another team-mate home. Each team will pick a head chef to pick the theme of the meal, and take charge of the cooking."

DJ and Geoff exchange worried looks. "I don't like the sound of this, man."

"To cook, you need ingredients!" Chris exclaimed. "Every morning, Chef makes a special trip into the city to pick up ingredients for the day's meal. Today, however, he bought a multitude of different ingredients to use in your challenge. Begin!"

Geoff was the first to walk over. "Hey dudes, with this stuff we can make some awesome Italian food!"

Duncan grinned. "I think we've found our head chef!"

"Really?" Geoff asked, awed. _Dude, is he actually tearing up? _"Let's get cracking!" He quickly moved to grab some food.

"Head Chef!" Heather said. "I'm calling it!" She glared at Lindsay. "Please, let's leave the drama for later. We need to win."

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm not disagreeing with you."

Izzy and Leshawna walked up to her. "Forget the witch, girl."

"Yeah, she may be evil," Izzy said, "but she's right. We really need to win. I don't want anyone else to leave..." She paused. "Noah was hard enough."

Leshawna rubbed her back comfortingly. "It's okay. Noah would want you to-"

"Can we not talk about it?" Izzy asked. "I just don't feel that great right now." Leshawna nodded.

"Okay, let's roll!" Geoff said, the already food-laden Bass trailing behind him.

Meanwhile, Heather was already listing off orders. "Leshawna, mangoes. Trent, ribs. Owen... on second thought, Owen step away from the food. Gwen...

**In The Kitchen- Bass**

The Killer Bass walked in, all carrying items of food. "Okay, Bass! We have six people so partner up and pick a course!" Geoff instructed.

"I make a mean pasta sauce!" DJ volunteered.

Bridgette smiled. "I'm pretty sure I can boil pasta!" They hi-fived.

"Me and Tyler can own the the antipasto." Harold said. "I have, like, a black belt in cutting cheese!" The campers chuckled at his expense. "What?"

"Well, Princess," Duncan said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, "I guess that leaves you and me on dessert."

She frowned. "Oh no. No! No, no. No, no, no!"

"Seven nos," Duncan said, raising a brow, "really?"

Geoff slung his arms around each of their shoulders. "Come on, Court, for the good of the team?"

_Courtney Confessional_

_Yeah, so maybe I was acting a little harsh. But we need people to think we hate each other! **(Pauses.) **Not that he's making it extremely hard for me to pretend or anything._

Geoff, afterward, had slipped away to collect Harold's underwear. He appeared at the door, giving a thumbs up to DJ.

He nodded. "So where'd you want the water, Bridgette?" He asked, spilling a pot of water on Harold as he passed by. "Oops!" _Ha, real nice guys. _

"Real smooth, Dorkahontas!" Harold spat. _Really? Dorkahontas? And you're how old? _

"What a drag!" Geoff exclaimed, shaking his head. "Better go change bro!" Bridgette glared at the two as they snickered, but was distracted by the arrival of the Gophers.

**Kitchen- Gophers**

"Gwen, Lindsay... you're on the upside-down tropical flambe." Heather ordered, causing Gwen to roll her eyes.

Lindsay sighed. "Know how to make an upside down flamer thing?" _So we're acting dumb again..._

"Trent, you and Owen are on ribs!" Heather instructed. "And, Owen show some control, please?"

He sighed. "I make no promises." He then knocked over the crate of oranges.

"Owen!" Heather shrieked. "Get another crate from the boat. Now!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" He said, running out the door.

Heather rolled her eyes. "That leaves Izzy and Leshawna on the pineapple kebabs and mango dip."

"Girl, leave me the appetizers. I make the best curried mango!" Leshawna said.

"Really? That's amazing!" Heather spat out. "But I'm Head Chef and I said pineapple kebabs and mango dip!"

**Harold**

"Shirt, sweater, shirt, shirt..." Harold said, flinging his clothes out of the dresser. He pulled out a red man-thong. "Looks like it's your time to shine!"

_That is... so many levels of wrong!_

**Owen, Who Went to Fetch More Oranges**

Owen panted, running back towards the kitchen with a new crate of oranges. He tripped, sending the crate flying and causing him to smack a tree. "Alexander the Great, that hurt!" He moaned.

It was then that the bees swarmed him. "Ow! Eee! Aah! Lord have mercy!" _God have mercy, and fill these campers with brains, for though have forgotten to bestow them at birth._

**Kitchen- Bass**

Geoff hummed to himself lightly, stirring one of the pots. He smiled, walking past Bridgette and DJ.

"I think he likes you." DJ said, nudging Bridgette.

"Really?" She asked, cutting up tomato, "Well... he is kinda cute." _Seriously? Did we just forget the whole change dish thing? You know, it brought the drama a couple of challenges ago?_

DJ smiled and nodded, before sidling up to Geoff. "Okay man, go talk to her!"

"Now?" Geoff squeaked. "But I-" DJ pushed his towards her. "Hey Bridgette..."

"Hi!" She smiled, scooping tomatoes into the boiling water.

"So... nice weather we've been having." He said, causing DJ to roll his eyes.

Bridgette raised her eyebrows. "...I guess."

Geoff sighed. "Look, Bridgette, this would be so much easier if I knew we were just friends. Can we be friends?"

She smiled, although it had a sad look to it, "I'd love to be friends, Geoff."

"Oh, great... So, you're a surfer?" He asked.

She nodded. "For a while now. I live near the coast."

"That's wicked. I've always wanted to learn... think you could teach me sometime?"

"I'd love too." She said, flashing his another smile.

_Bridgette Confessional_

_**(Frowning) **That's so weird. I thought Geoff liked me... **(Smiles) **But friends is great!_

_Geoff Confessional_

_Yeah, I still like Bridgette. But this is so much easier, and I figure if I relax a little around her, I can tell her I like her. Besides, I'm not sure if she likes me._

_DJ Confessional_

_**(Face-palms) **They annoy me so much! Obviously they like each other! **(Eyes bulge) **Oh god... they're another Duncan and Courtney, aren't they?_

**Kitchen- Gophers**

Trent and Gwen stood over the ribs, letting them marinate. "I have to say I'm impressed," Gwen said, "you've gone this far in the challenge without hurting yourself."

"Oh, ha ha." Trent said. "Very funny."

Owen burst it, swollen from stings and carrying the orange crate awkwardly. "I'm back!" He paused to chuck the crate at Trent. "Heads up!"

Trent didn't get the memo, and ended up passed out on the floor. Gwen sighed. "I jinxed it, didn't I?"

_Heather Confessional_

_Everything is going according to plan! Except for Owen's stings, and Trent's concussion, which means he can't participate... but still this challenge is ours! **(Sighs)**_

**Kitchen- Bass**

Duncan was rolling out the dough. "Careful your paws don't mash up the pastry!" Courtney warned.

"Careful your uptight attitude doesn't curdle the custard!" Duncan leered back.

"But I'm one of the most easy going people I know!" Courtney protested.

He smirked. "Really? Have you ever done something you knew was wrong just for the fun of it? Have you ever failed and not cared? Have you ever gone to a party and forgot about everything?"

She blushed. "Well... no."

"Then you haven't lived." He declared.

She rolled her eyes and then gasped in horror. "Oh. My. God."

"What?" Duncan asked, finally noticing what she was staring at. "I think I just lost my appetite."

Harold walked, ignoring the stares he got. "What?"

"Dude." Tyler said. "Guys aren't supposed to wear... thongs."

Harold scoffed. "Whatever. This is all I had to wear after you idiots stole all my clothes."

"We didn't steal all your clothes..." DJ said, "just the ones that you wear on the lower half of your body." _Ah, technicalities._

Chris came to the door and shuddered. "Three hours to go guys!" He shuddered again.

**Kitchen- Gophers**

Izzy stood at hers and Leshawna's prep table, cutting the pineapple into small, even chunks. "Those slices are so not even!" Heather complained. "Leshawna, take over!"

"Yo, drama queen, I'm allergic to pineapple!" Leshawna yelled back.

Izzy gasped. "Are you one of those people who swell up like balloons?" Leshawna nodded. "Sweet!"

Heather ignored Izzy. "Does it look like I care! I'm Head Chef, and if I tell you to cut pineapple, you do it!" _Anybody else think this Head Chef thing is swelling Heather's ego?_

"Yeah, but I'm allergic, a'ight? Do you want me to swell up like a balloon?" Leshawna replied. At this point, even the Killer Bass were starting to stare.

Heather rolled her eyes. "Just get slicing, a'ight?"

Leshawna grumbled, switching jobs with Izzy. "And what are you going to do about this, huh?" Leshawna asked, holding up her arms to show the spreading rash.

Heather sighed. "Fine... switch back with Izzy. But don't yell at me again!" She exclaimed, turning on her heel and marching away.

**Kitchen- Bass**

"Dude, I think it's unsanitary to cook in something that _small_." Geoff chuckled, gesturing at Harold. _Yeah, I agree. And to think I have to eat that..._

Harold growled. "Then give me back my pants!"

"Okay, guys, this has gone on long enough." Tyler said. "There's a change of clothes for you in the cabins."

Harold shuffled away angrily, causing the boys to chuckle, Duncan holding a bottle of hot sauce.

"Done you think that's a little harsh, Geoff?" Bridgette asked, arms crossed.

He shook his head. "Nah, we're just trying to get him to clean up a little, you know?"

Bridgette sighed. "Okay, but be careful. Harold might plot revenge someday."

"He doesn't seem like the vengeance type." DJ said.

Meanwhile, Harold slipped on a pair of pants, only to gasp. "My biscuits are burning!" He yelled, jumping in the lake and sighing in relief. "Ahh... jerks!"

**Kitchen- Gophers**

Heather sighed. "What's wrong now, guys?"

"We used all the flambe liquid," Lindsay said, "but it won't start!"

"Did you try lighting it with a match yet?" Heather asked Lindsay and Gwen.

Lindsay frowned. "Ohh..."

Heather sighed again. "I'll light it, okay? I don't want any other mistakes." She lit it, and it burst into flames.

"I think we may have put a little bit too much on." Gwen winced. _Yah think?_

Heather checked in a pan nearby to see how much damage had been caused. "My eyebrows!" She exclaimed. "They're gone!"

"You don't look _that_ bad." Gwen said, feeling sorry for her. _Lies!_

Heather's lip quivered. "Owen... get my makeup bag from the cabin!"

"But the bees..." He said, shuddering.

"Now!" Heather exclaimed. "This is an emergency!"

Izzy sighed. "I'll do it."

"Thanks Iz!" Owen said. "I really owe you one!"

"Yeah, yeah." She replied, walking out the door. She found Heather's makeup bag and headed out the cabin door.

Someone chuckled. "Hey, miss me?"

She gasped, dropping the make up bag. "Noah?"

"I would say the one and only, but I'm sure there are plenty of Noah's out there." He laughed.

She frowned. "Are you an angel? You're dressed in white..." She said, gesturing to his new outfit.

He smiled. "Not quite. More of a ghost... had some unfinished business to attend to."

"Like what?"

He shifted nervously. "I wanted to see you again... tell you to try your hardest to win. I want you to make it."

"What's the point? You're dead..." She trailed off.

He hugged her. "Don't give up okay? Please, for me?"

She sighed. "Fine." She closed her eyes wearily, and when she opened them, he was gone. "Good-bye." Echoed out from the trees. Sighing, she picked up the make up bag and raced into the kitchen. "Here you go, Heather."

"What took you so long?" She exclaimed.

"I couldn't find it." Izzy shrugged.

Noah smiled, watching her from the window. He turned back to the forest. -_Breaker 19... good feed... end transmission. Over.-_

**Kitchen- Bass**

Duncan and DJ clapped as Harold entered the kitchen "Nice pyjamas."

Harold sighed. "It's all I have left. So if you sickos want to see me butt-naked, hit me with your best shot." _Yeah... please don't._

"Then stop leaving your gitch lying around the cabin and we'll stop!" Duncan smirked, arms crossed.

Harold groaned. "I told you! They aren't mine!"

Duncan shrugged. "Hey, I tried."

DJ nodded. "A for effort."

"Hey guys... I made us some sandwich's for while we work!" Geoff exclaimed.

"Awesome!" Harold said, biting into one. "What's in these they taste...", he pulled out a pair of underwear, "funny."

The guys laughed. "We'll return your stuff when admit your guilt, dude." Geoff said, and Harold sighed.

**Kitchen- Gophers**

Leshawna swiped Heather's make up bag before she could pick it up. "Catch, Gwen!"

Gwen caught it, chuckling. "Lindsay?" She questioned.

Lindsay nodded, receiving the bag and throwing it in the freezer. "There. Now it's cold... like you." _Harsh. True, but harsh._

Heather groaned, running into the freezer, the door closing behind her. "Not funny guys!"

"You've got guts girl." Leshawna said, patting Lindsay on the back.

She shrugged. "I thought it would be funny."

"I will destroy you!" Heather called out, banging on the freezer door. She slumped down onto the ground, and tried to apply her makeup.

**Kitchen- Bass**

"You're such a slob!" Courtney cried out, exasperatedly. "You have to put the same amount of custard in each shell!"

He chuckled. "You know, you'd have more fun if you didn't have a pole up your butt."

"I do not!" She gasped. "I can be laid back!"

He rolled his eyes. "Prove it."

She chuckled deviously. "Okay." She chucked the bowl of remaining custard at him, hitting him in the face.

He groaned. "We needed that."

"Oh relax." Courtney said, swiping some custard off his face. "Live a little."

_Courtney Confessional_

_That was the most fun I've had this whole time. In your face Duncan!_

**Challenge Time!**

"Your meal will be served shortly, sir." Gwen said, rolling her eyes.

Geoff smiled. "Bon appetit, dude! I mean, sir."

Leshawna and Owen breathed in the scent of the ribs. "We might actually win this, ya'll!" She exclaimed. "Owen, guard the food!" She and the others left.

Owen sniffed the ribs. "Looking good there, guys." He chuckled. "Really good. Oh, what's this, the ribs are lopsided? Well, we can fix that." He took a rib and ate it. "But now this side's crooked..."

Chris, meanwhile, was judging the food. "Great antipasto guys! Pass the pasta, guys! On a scale of one to ten... fifteen!" Bridgette and DJ exchanged relieved glances.

"Now how will the Gophers respond?" Chris asked. Leshawna smiled, and gestured towards the door, but nobody came out.

She walked back into the kitchen, and gasped at what she saw. "Owen... tell you me you did not eat that whole rack of ribs!" She sent Owen out, holding a tray of bones.

"Uh, yeah." Chris said. "There's nothing there."

"That's not true." Owen said. "There's a little bit of meat there." Chris pointed at it. "Yeah, there."

Chris took a bite and choked, causing Owen to have to do CPR. He quickly recovered though. "Not that bad... two points." Owen cheered. "It's not that great Owen, you're still losing by a lot."

He then took a bite of Duncan and Courtney's dessert. "Pretty good... eight points!" He then saw the Gopher's dessert. "Not that looks good!" He went to take a bite of it, but it collapsed.

"That isn't good!" Leshawna whisper yelled.

Chris managed to force down a bite, gagging a little. "And another two points... which means the Bass have won the third time in a row!"

The Bass cheered. Duncan and Courtney even hugged. Maybe even a little longer than they should have.

_Courtney Confessional_

_**(Blushing) **What? It was a victory hug!_

_Duncan Confessional_

_Fine. I like her. It's no big deal. Really._

Chris frowned suddenly. "Uh... where's Heather?"

"Oh my god!" Lindsay gasped, letting her out of the freezer.

Heather stepped out, a light blue. "How'd we do?"

Lindsay frowned. "We lost."

"Oh." Heather said, slumping slightly.

Owen, meanwhile, had picked up the Tiki Idol that was resting on the judge's table. "Cool statue! Whose is it?"

"It think it was Beth's." Lindsay said. "I thought it fit the tropical theme."

"Wait." Chris said. "Let me see that." He inspected it. "Dudes! This is from Boney Island! It's cursed!"

Heather gasped. "Is that why we've been losing?"

"Probably." Chris said. "Now I'd advise that one of you take it back. Now!"

Leshawna sighed. "I'll get rid of it."

"Good." Chris replied. "Now Gophers, you'll be voting someone off tonight! Meet me at the campfire!"

**Elimination**

_Heather Confessional_

_I voted for Leshawna. Because she crossed me... and because I didn't want anyone else to go. At least, not yet._

_Lindsay Confessional_

_I didn't vote. Or more importantly, I'm not voting. Chris said I had to though, so... I vote for Noah. **(Giggles fakely) **Oops. "Blonde moment."_

_Trent Confessional_

_Yeah, I was out the whole time. So I vote for Heather. What? It's my fallback plan!_

"I've got seven Gophers in front of me," Chris exclaimed, "but only six marshmallows! So, good luck. Leshawna, Izzy... Trent." He said, throwing marshmallows. "Gwen. That leaves our bottom two. Heather, Owen... I'm sure you may have ideas as to why you're in jeopardy. Who does the final marshmallow go to?" He paused. "Heather. Owen, I saw you eat those ribs, major mistake dude."

Owen shrugged. "I guess it's time to go." He walked towards the dock and stepped on the boat. "See you on the other side!" He said, pointing up.

Izzy frowned. "What's the name of the boat Chris? I can never really make it out."

"The General Ryan Amadeus Victor Eriksen." Chris said. "I know, it's a mouthful."

Izzy nodded. "Why's it named that?"

"He died in the First World War when his squadron mates voted for him to die to save themselves from the Germans." Chris sighed. "Sort of how you guys vote each other off to save yourselves."

The cameras flashed red for the last time that night, capturing the last looks of sadness on the camper's faces.

**Lindsay and Heather**

"I guess we're not an alliance anymore, are we?" Heather asked, shifting from foot to foot.

Lindsay nodded. "I don't think it's a good idea. We've just been using each other. That's not a great alliance."

"It worked pretty well, though." Heather said, sadly.

"It did." Lindsay said. "And I'd be willing to start over if we actually meant it. You know, stuck up for each other."

Heather sighed. "I can't do that yet... but maybe in a while."

Lindsay nodded. "We can even try again in a couple of challenges." She walked towards the cabins.

"If I last that long." Heather whispered.

* * *

What'd you think of that? Now you know that Owen won't win, so winner's up for grabs. However, I already know who's in the top three, I just haven't decided who wins yet.

Noah came back to comfort Izzy. I thought that was sweet, and would appease the Nizzy shippers. In reality though, he was always going to come back.

Just a reminder, always pay attention to the little details in the story. Sometimes I give hints...

-Pursuit


	12. The Arbours: Cole

Howdy ya'll! Anyways, now that I got the country out of my system, who'd like to hear about today's chapter?

Honestly... I think ya'll are gonna be disappointed. Not because it's a piece of crap, but because it doesn't pertain to the main characters, I've chosen to write from the Arbour's perspective again. Yeah boo hiss, all ya want, it's still pertinent.

**Disclaimer:** **I don't own the amazing TDI series, nor do I want to, really. Though a few things could have been changed in TDA...**

**

* * *

**

**Giselle Arbour**

Giselle sprinted through the school hallway, coming up to a group of jocks. "Um, hi. Can I..."

"What do you want?" Lasseau asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not looking for an autograph, Lasseau, I'm not interested in your field goal record. I'm here to talk to Cole."

"Ooh." Some of the guys hissed mockingly, punching Lasseau on the shoulder lightly.

"Shut up, guys!" He fumed. "What do you want with Cole anyway, freshie? He's got a girlfriend."

Giselle sighed. "Yeah, I know, she's the head cheerleader. Can I just talk to Cole, please?"

Cole quirked an eyebrow. "Me?"

"No." She said, rolling her eyes. "Walter Peyton. Who do you think?"

He nodded. "Guys I'll... meet up with you later, kay?"

Wilson clapped Cole on the back. "Just don't be late for class, dude. If you fail summer school, you're off the team."

"I know! I'll be there, okay?" He said, and the guys stalked off to class. "What do you want?"

She glared. "You know, just because you're Mr. Popular and All-Star running back, you can't snap at me."

"I'm sorry." He groaned. "Can you get to it?"

She sighed. "It's about Cody."

Cole tensed. "What about him?"

"What do you mean, what about him? Why haven't I seen him recently?" She snapped out.

"Cody's way too smart for summer school." He mumbled.

She glared. "And so are you... or were, until you failed the exams."

"I had a lot on my mind, okay?" Cole breathed out, running his hand through his hair.

She paused. "Would this have to do with the show Cody's on... The Death Games?"

"That's just a TV show." Cole said. "It's not a big deal."

"We both know it's not a just a TV show." She said. "It's real."

He scoffed. "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

"No, it's not." She said, calmly. "Stop pretending like it is."

"You're a freak, you know that?" He said. "How can you even say something like that?" He spun around and stalked down the hallway as the first bell rang.

She sighed. "Because Trent's my brother!" She called down the hallway.

He paused, and walked back to her. "You have five minutes. Spill."

"Trent was my foster brother for three years, until four years ago, when he was sent to live with another family. I guess they didn't treat him very well, because he ran away and turned to the streets. Four years later, my best friend Neila gets me to watch The Death Games, at one of our sleepovers. I got hooked. So I'm watching it one day, and my mom comes in with this huge photo album of all the kids she's fostered, and she's like 'What are you watching?' and I'm like, 'The Death Games.' and she's like, 'What's that?' and-"

Cole stopped her. "I'm sorry are you going somewhere with this?"

She nodded. "So we end up watching it together, and I'm translating it to her when there's Trent on the screen, looking like he's freaking out. And something in my head clicks, probably from seeing my mom's huge-assed album, that hey! That's my brother! Then I look at my mom and she looks freaked out, and I say something like, 'It must be real... Trent was never that good an actor.' So then my dad comes home, tells about this whacked out secret organization he was in, and tells that these people took Trent for revenge and we'll probably never see him again." She paused. "And that was my weekend. Now it's time for you to spill."

Cole had this confused and slightly awed expression on his face. "Do all chicks talk that fast?" She nodded. "Give me a sec, I've got to sort this all out."

"Take your time." She said.

He sighed. "Okay," he said, motioning for them to sit down on a nearby bench, "I'll start from the beginning." He paused. "We had just moved here in the fall, and we were still getting used to things. It was in early June when they came to our door."

_'Hey dad!' I called out, 'I'm leaving for football practice!'_

_'Fine.' He called out. 'Can you take Cody to school?'_

_I groaned. 'Do I have to?'_

_'Yes!' He yelled back and I groaned. 'He's your brother, Cole, and __you love him.'_

_'Not always.' I muttered. 'Come on, nerd.'_

_Cody sprung down the stairs. 'Hey! Nerd is in!'_

_'Sure it is bro. And chicks totally dig nerds. That's why they go for the football team!' I said, sarcastically._

_Cody rolled his eyes. 'Whatevs, man. It worked for Bill Gates.'_

_I sighed. 'Okay, dude, don't say whatevs. It's totally lame. And, at the rate you're going, all you're going to be able get is a librarian.'_

_He smirked. 'Doesn't every guy have a secret librarian fantasy sometime?'_

_'Dude, you're way too young to be thinking about that.' I shuddered._

_'I'm only a year younger than you!' He said._

_I shuddered again. 'Doesn't make it any less creepier.' I swung open the door and two guys dressed in suits were standing at the door._

_'Can we speak to Cole Tallon, please?' The bigger guy said, rolling his eyes as put the other guy's hand down, cause he had it up like he was about to knock or something._

_I freaked out. 'Okay, if this is about that time I went joyriding in Mr. Bunstein's car, it totally wasn't my idea. Besides, who doesn't make sure their fancy car is locked up? Or that time when I accidentally spiked the drinks at prom, or when I broke the corner store's window, or when I accidentally started that forest fire... I have an excuse! Bad luck runs in the family!'_

_Cody looks up at me, impressed. 'That was you?'_

_The guys looked at each other, half amused and half frightened. 'I'm afraid your bad luck is about get worse.'_

_'Oh no!' I moaned. 'Did Mr. Snuggleton die?'_

"Mr. Snuggleton?" Giselle interrupted.

Cole blushed. "He's my hamster." She quirked her eyebrow. "Anyway..."

_The men exchanged looks again. 'Uh, no.' The shorter one spoke up. 'Can we speak to your parents?'_

_'I swear, if this is about me downloading music files on the computer illegally-'_

_'Just get your parents, son!' The scarier one barked._

_'Dad!' I called out, and he came shuffling down the stairs._

_'What is it?' He yawned. He saw the guys and froze._

_So one of the dudes chuckles. 'It's been a long time, Mr. Tallon.'_

_'Same to you, Abrahams.' My dad said. 'You're here for Cole, aren't you?'_

_'I swear, I'll change! Just don't take me to juvie!' I begged._

_'Shut up, Cole!' My dad yelled, and it was the first time I'd ever seen him lose his cool. He turned back to the two guys. 'I heard about this... I just didn't know you were going through with it.'_

_The big guy nods. 'Special orders. Now if you can just sign here...'_

_'Okay, what the hell is going on?' Cody screams._

_The short one whips a gun out of his holster before anyone can react. 'Calm down. Just sign the papers, and the deed is done.'_

_My dad is shaking as he signs the forms. The man nods. 'You'll be coming with us now.' He says, grabbing my jersey._

_'But my clothes!' I choke out. 'What about all my stuff?'_

_'Stuff is stuff.' The short one says. 'It can be replaced. Now, you really must come with us.' _

_So they're dragging me out the doorway when Cody yells, 'Stop! You can't take him!_

_'And why the hell not?' Scary dude snaps._

_Cody shrinks. 'He's diabetic. If he goes into shock, he could die. He'll need his medicine.'_

_'Damn!' Short one exclaims. 'I didn't think about that.'_

_'Well, we have to take someone!' The other one cries out exasperatedly._

_'I'll go.' Cody speaks up. _

_'You can't be serious!' I exclaim. _

_He nods. 'I am.'_

_I look at the guys with guns, and my terrified dad, and I quickly figure out this is worse than juvie. 'Dude, you're my hero.'_

_He sighs as they drag him out the door. 'No, I'm Clark Kent. You've always been Superman.'_

"That was the last time I saw him." Cole said. "And now he's dead."

Giselle nods. "That's why you weren't in school for a while."

"Yeah. I totally crashed after my dad explained everything to me. I failed my exams. I even forgot to write my name at the top." Cole said.

"How has your family been doing?" Giselle asked.

He sighed. "It's just me and my dad now. Mom died the year before we moved here. She always wanted to go back to Montreal." He said, spacing a little.

"You're welcome to come over and visit us if you want to. So you and your dad aren't so alone." She said.

He nods. "I'll get your phone number."

"We don't exactly have a phone." Giselle winced. "My dad went all rageaholic and smashed our phones."

He frowned. "I'll have to come over sometime soon."

The bell rang. "You're late for class." Giselle pointed out.

"I'm not going." He says. "Probably not the best idea right now. I'll just go home."

She frowns. "You could always come over now if you want to."

"Don't you have classes you need to go to?" He asks.

She shrugs. "I had my classes this morning, I wanted to catch you. Are you coming over?"

"Sure." He smiles. "I'd like that."

Down the hall Nathalie, Cole's girlfriend, fumes. Not hearing any of their conversation, she makes a mental note to get Lasseau to arrange an 'accident', she then trudges back to class, destroying the hall pass clutched in her hand.

* * *

And there you have it folks. Just a little more insight into the world of the camper's loved ones.

By the way, congrats to everybody who figured out the GRAVE riddle, now who can tell me where else I used the word GRAVE? PM me once you find it, and tell me why _**you**_ think it's so important.

Oh and I'm working on editing the previous chapter. I'm editing in the part with Harold and the others, and the part where I write the quote of the chapter, so look for that sometime soon.

-Pursuit


	13. Who Can You Trust?

Hey guys. I'm assuming that none of you figured out the GRAVE riddle, due to the lack of response. (Sorry, I'm in a major Rachel Berry mode right now.) I'd just like to remind you that author's notes aren't off limits either. (I'd also like to remind you, that I could very well be screwing with you right now.)

**Disclaimer:**If I owned this show, Courtney wouldn't be as stubborn, Scruffy would've lived, Owen would've been voted off, Nizzy would have happened, and Geoff would be confirmed for TDM. Oh, and the new characters probably wouldn't have been made, because they're blatant copies of Justin, and Katie and Sadie.

**Update: **I'm so sorry I missed updating, like, three Mondays in a row! Between soccer and school, I couldn't do it all. So I'm really sorry.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Who Can You Trust?**

_"Boy, you sure don't live in my neighbourhood."_

_-Leshawna_

* * *

**Mess Hall**

"On the menu today," Chef droned, "is Italian-Hawaiian fusion casserole."

Gwen cringed. "Got anything else on the menu?"

"Yes." Chef deadpanned. "Starvation. Now shut-up and and eat the god damn food!"

Lindsay shuddered down at her food as she walked towards the Gopher table. She sighed, glancing around at the people seated at the table, and went to sit beside Tyler at the Bass table. "Hey."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Hi." He took a sip of coffee. "Heather?"

Lindsay nodded. "Felt... weird going to sit there."

"Um, Lindsay?" Courtney began.

"Yeah?" Lindsay asked, chasing the food around her plate.

Courtney sighed, Duncan cautiously eyeing her, not so subtly hinting for her to shut up. "Aren't you supposed to be sitting over there?"

Izzy walked up behing Lindsay, sitting herself down beside her. "Actually, while it was inferred that we are supposed to sit with our team, it wasn't actually made a rule."

"Welcome to the Bass table." Bridgette said. "Pass me the salt, Lindsay?" Lindsay handed her the shaker.

Courtney started again. "It wasn't that. It's just... isn't your team going to think you're traitors or something?" She said, gesturing at the gaping Gophers. "You're taking a major risk here."

Lindsay looked around. "I understand that." She grinned. "Besides, the company's much better over here."

Geoff chuckled. "I guess you guys are honorary Bass members now." The Bass stared at him. "Well, at least at chow time."

Courtney rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but mutter an, "Amen to that," causing the Bass (honorary and forced) to chuckle.

Chris walked in on the giggling Bass members and the quiet Gophers. "What's going on?" The campers shrugged. "Anyways, meet me by the dock after breakfast. It's challenge time!" He sang, causing the campers to groan.

**The Dock- The Challenge Begins**

"So," Chris breathed out, whistling as he did, "last challenge brought some Gopher issues to light, and there _may _be something fishy floating in the Bass pond too." He said, glancing at Duncan and Courtney. Duncan nudged Courtney, who then pushed him onto the dock. "Teenagers." Chris muttered. "Any who, this challenged is focused on building trust, since that department is severely lacking."

_Lindsay Confessional_

_You know, I don't really get the point of this whole 'trust challenge'. I mean, like, what's the point of building trust if our team mates are just going to stab us in the back anyways? **(Coughs) **Heather._

_Duncan Confessional_

_Trust. Never had much use for it. Seriously, how are you supposed to be all 'trusting' and junk after you've come out of juvie? **(Glares) **You learn to sleep with eye open. Or else._

"There will be three challenges your team will have to complete." Chris said. "Which have to be completed by two or more members of your team. Usually, we would let you pick your partners, but I had way too much fun picking them for you!" Chris laughed.

**Challenge One- A Slight Cliffhanger**

"For the first challenge," Chris began, "you will competing in an insane rock climb up this cliff!" He gestured behind him at the cliff, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Whoo." Gwen said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Teams are... DJ and Duncan for the Bass and... Heather and Gwen for the Gophers." He said chuckling. _I think it's safe to say there's a possibility someone won't make it out of this challenge alive... with or without the cliff. _"Here's your rope and harness." He said, throwing them to the teams.

Heather caught it, tucking it against her. "What's your problem, Heather?" Gwen asked.

"I... I get really sick when I rock climb. I think it's from the dangling or whatever." She said, looking nauseated.

Gwen glared suspiciously. "Whatever. But if you try anything funny, you are so getting it."

"Now here's how this works." Chris said. "The team mate at the bottom will support the climber by holding onto the rope. However, if the climber falls, the rope and harness _should _stop them from splattering on the ground." Heather turned a darker shade of green. "The catch is, is that the cliff is rigged with some distractions." Chris faced the cliff, mockingly stroking his chin. "Let's see, we've got rusty nails, some explosives, and a couple patches of oil slicks... so this isn't your average rock climb."

"Explosives?" DJ asked. "Isn't that kind of dangerous?"

Chris paused, as if thinking it over. "Yeah, it could probably hurt. You know, broken bones, internal bleeding, decapitation, deafness, disembowelment... but I'm sure you'll be _fine_."

Heather and DJ were now very dark shades of green. "Disembowelment?"

_More like embellishment. _"You'll be fine." Chris said, waving them off.

_Heather Confessional_

_I get sick really easily, okay? I puked my guts out in biology. So the idea of disembowelment, even if it's Gwen, is pretty scary._

Harold eyed the cliff of doom. "Awesome."

Chris rolled his eyes. "Now the person manning or _womanning_ the rope must also harness their partner, helps bring in the trust factor." Chris turned serious. "As well, never, ever let go of the rope. Your partner's life could depend on it."

Gwen sighed. "Chris can we please switch partners, I don't feel like _dying _today."

Heather looked a little hurt. "Please. I'm not going to kill you. I won't hurt you... yet. Now spread 'em." She said, stretching the harness.

"I've never done this before." DJ said. "Have you?"

Duncan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because they teach you how climb walls in prison all the time." _Sarcasm. Nice._

Bunny then hopped out of DJ's pocket. "Aw, bunny!" DJ said. "Sorry, you can't come up with me! But I'll leave you with Geoff, he'll take good care of you." He said, handing off Bunny to Geoff.

"Yeah, I'll take good care of the little guy." Geoff said, stroking the bunny. "What's up furry dude?"

Heather stood up. "There. You're all strapped up."

"What's the other rope for?" Gwen asked, eyeing the second rope.

"I don't know." Heather said. "Isn't that how you're supposed to set it up?"

Gwen and DJ began climbing, Gwen quickly hitting an explosion and falling. "I've got you!" Heather called out, slightly green again.

"Now since I promised surprises..." Chris said, pulling out a Super Soaker. He quickly soaked Heather with black paint.

"Jesus, Chris!" She said, rubbing at her eyes, managing to catch a falling Gwen at the last second.

Chris then attempted to squirt Duncan, who quickly dodged. "Really, that's it?" Duncan teased. _Stupid thing... ran out of paint!_

Gwen quickly gained on DJ, more aware of her footing, She, however, slipped and began to fall. The rope danced away from Heather, who in an effort to save her, blindly grabbed for the second rope. The rest was TV history, as the second rope's function seemed to inadvertently rip away Gwen's skirt, causing it to land on DJ's face. "Screw it!" Gwen moaned, resuming climbing.

"I'm so sorry!" Heather called out. "It was an accident, I swear, honest to god!" The Gophers rolled their eyes or glared, clearly in disbelief.

"You don't see that everyday." Duncan stated, gesturing at Gwen.

Courtney slapped him on the shoulder. "You're such a perv, Duncan!"

"No, I meant it literally!" Duncan cried. "Who sees that everyday?"

Leshawna shook her head and sighed. "Boy, you sure don't live in my neighbourhood." _Which brings up the question; what kind of neighbourhood does Leshawna live in?_

DJ freaked, and fell backward off the cliff. Somehow, the rope had snagged itself around Duncan's foot, causing him to be pulled upwards, causing him to collide with DJ. "Well, this sucks." Duncan said, groaning.

Gwen quickly reached the top of the cliff. "First challenge goes to the Screaming Gophers!" Chris enthused. "And for the love of God Gwen, put on some pants! Really, we don't need to see that."

**Challenge Two- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish...**

Chris walked into the Mess Hall, pointing out the two teams; Trent and Lindsay vs. Bridgette and Geoff. He quickly took his place at the podium. "Yeah, I was supposed to have this dramatic entrance where I did a whole bunch of crazy stunts and stuff, but no amount of money in the world could make me do that so... just use your developmental teenage brains and imagine something good okay?" He took a sip of his coffee. "Now after that _thrilling _entrance, it's time for me to introduce our Insanely Awesome Cooking Challenge!"

Geoff leaned over to Bridgette. "You have to admit, the dude may be crazy, but he sure knows how to play the audience." _Uh, thanks? _

"Now, choose who will be the chef and who will the guinea pig er- taster." Chris exclaimed.

Geoff shrugged. "I was Head Chef last challenge. You should probably cook." Bridgette nodded.

"I'll be the cook, Ted! I use to make cupcakes in my Easy Bake oven when I was little!" Lindsay said.

_Lindsay Confessional_

_'Kay look, here's the deal. I make a mean souffle. I can bake a Tiramisu that would make Gordon Ramsay cry. I aced Home Ec. This should be a piece of cake. **(Giggles)**_

_Trent Confessional_

_Nah, I'm not worried. It's cooking, how bad can Lindsay screw it up?_

Chris smirked, and the campers began to suspect this was about more than cupcakes. "In this challenge, you will be preparing Fugu Sushi, which comes from the deadly fugu blowfish. It must be prepared precisely and accurately. If the eater ingests the slightest amount of its poison, it will paralyze the eater's nervous system, and will cause the eater to be out of control in their own body." He chuckled. "Well, have fun!" _How lucky am I that I'm allergic to seafood?_

Trent turned an unnatural shade of red. "But the- the- fish- poison- cupcakes?"

Chris sighed. "I'm sorry Trent, but cupcakes lack the dramatic tension this will cause. I love my job!" He frowned slightly at the glares he received. _Okay, maybe that was a little insensitive. Really I just meant... I'm sorry. Dust to dust, and ashes to ashes, and to dust you shall return!_

"Now begin!" Chris said, throwing his arm like the guy on Iron Chef did, sadly the humour was lost on the campers.

Bridgette frowned, carefully cutting away at the pieces, making sure to get rid of the toxic material. Geoff simply smiled, a little uneasily, trusting in Bridgette's abilities.

Trent looked like death. _Ironic, huh? _He was jittery, pale, and was probably T minus seventeen seconds from puking. Lindsay smiled confidently as she worked around the fish, humming a tune from the Little Mermaid.

Well, Chris thought it was funny.

"Time's up!" He called. "Let's see how our campers fared!" He paused looking between both plates. "Wow... these actually look pretty good. _Both _of them. I mean I expected it from Bridgette... but the dumb blond, really?"

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Well, we can't all be smart like you, can we?" She asked sweetly.

Chris chose to ignore that, picking up the sarcasm in her tone. "Trent... Geoff. Ready for a little... sushi?"

"Actually," Lindsay began, "it's sashimi. It's uncooked and raw, therefore making it sashimi. Sushi is cooked. It's a common mistake." She glanced at the looks of shock on the faces around the room. "What? I know things."

"Um, your _sashimi_,gents." Chris said, placing the two plates in front of Trent and Geoff.

Trent sighed, looking at the plate warily. "You know, it's my first time trying this."

"Sashimi?"Geoff asked. "Me too, dude."

He shook his head. "No... fish. I've never tried... fish."

"Seriously brah?" Chris asked. "I mean... dude, who hasn't had fish and chips before? Tuna fish sandwich? Fish sticks? Crab cakes?"

"My sister Giselle was allergic, okay?" He said. "We never had it in the house."

Geoff shrugged. "It's okay. I mean, it's not a hamburger or anything... but it tastes pretty good."

Trent sighed. "Uh. Sure... yeah."

Geoff sighed. "Kay, look. I'll eat it first, and prove to you there's nothing to worry about." He chewed some of the fish. "See dude, nothing to worry about!"

Trent seemingly encouraged by this, grabbed a piece and threw it in his mouth. "Actually... it's not... that bad." He said, smiling a little.

It was Chris that noticed it first. Before the hacking, the wheezing, and the collapsing, he knew it. Trent was allergic to fish, just like he was.

"What's going on?" Lindsay cried out. "It was fine! It didn't have any poison! I checked a million times over!"

"It's not the poison!" Chris shouted. He panicked, and whipped out his EpiPen, injecting it into Trent's thigh. "He went into anaphylactic shock. He's allergic to fish. So am I." He said, shaking the empty EpiPen back and forth. "I'm not sure if it will work though, I don't think EpiPens are supposed to be used... interchangeably between people."

Trent seemed to be getting better, he got some of his colour back, and after he was able to talk again, but some of the wheezing was still there. "What happened?"

Lindsay smiled slightly, rubbing his back. "As it turns out, you're allergic to fish."

Chris sighed. "I really hate to do this but... Geoff and Bridgette are the winners. Trent technically can't consume the whole plate of fish, disqualifying you two from the challenge. I'm sorry, I don't make the rules, I just enforce 'em."

Lindsay shrugged. "It's okay... our team already won one of the challenges, right?" She asked, weakly.

Chef sidled up to Chris. "Things ain't looking good for you pretty boy. First you get into... an _accident,_" he said, motioning at Chris's leg, "and now you have no defense against an allergic for a week now when we get more food."

Chris shook his head. "I need an appointment to get another EpiPen. You know I'm not allowed to leave the island."

Chef grunted. "Crazy world we live in, hey?"

_My thoughts exactly._

**Down The Rabbit Hole**

Geoff and Bridgette laughed, racing down the dock towards the water. "Last one in is a rotten fish stick!" Geoff cried.

Bridgette giggled. "Oh, you're so on!"

They soon neared the edge of the dock. "Wait!" Geoff cried out suddenly. "I forgot about Bunny!" He pulled him out of his pocket, where he had been resting. "I'll just put you over here, little guy!" He cooed, setting him on the dock post. "Wouldn't want you to get hurt!"

"Wow," Bridgette said, "you're really being responsible about this."

"And you're surprised?" Geoff asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Bridgette blushed. "Umm... no. I just-"

He laughed, cutting her off. "Chill dudette, I'm just joshing ya." He frowned. "I'm usually not that great when it comes to pets. I accidentally killed the class guinea pig."

Bridgette chuckled. "That's okay Geoff. I'm sure you were too young to actually care for it."

"No," Geoff began, "that's not it. This was just this year. You see, it was my chem class's pet, you know, because in experiments they call the test subjects guinea pigs? Anyways, I was setting up the Bunsen burner one day and Fluffy got too close and..." He trailed off, sighing. "I still have nightmares about it."

Bridgette looked mortified, amused and scared all at the same time. "Um, last one in is a rotten fish stick?"

Geoff smiled, jumping in, soaking Bridgette. "Ha! Who's a fish stick? That's right, Bridgette's a fish stick!"

Bridgette rolled her eyes, smiling. "Yeah, yeah." She dived in.

"Isn't it awesome that we're this close to a beach everyday?" Geoff asked.

"Yeah." Bridgette nodded, until something caught her eye. "Ohmigod! Geoff! A snake has Bunny!"

"What?" He yelled, scrambling to pull himself out of the water. "Bunny! No!" It was too late, the snake had already swallowed Bunny.

Bridgette gasped. "Get the snake!" _Yeah, like that's going to help._

Geoff inched towards the snake, and was barely five feet away from it when the eagle swooped in and picked it up. "Seriously?" Geoff moaned, making his way to the eagle.

Bridgette climbed out, trying to send the eagle towards Geoff, accidentally startling it into flight. "Grab it's legs!" She yelled.

"I'm trying!" Geoff said, leaping for it and missing. Fortunately, it landed on the edge of the dock. Unfortunately, one of the Wawanakwa sharks decided it would be an excellent snack. _Bummer._

"Oh come on!" Geoff said, stamping his foot.

"I guess you really aren't good with pets." Bridgette cringed.

Geoff sighed. "I'm not good with kids either. This one time-"

"Geoff?" Bridgette said, patting his back.

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to know."

**Challenge Three- The Three Blind Mice**

"Now, the third round actually consists of three more challenges!" Chris said, causing the campers to groan. "I know! Bet you didn't see it coming! Ironically enough, these challenges are called the three blind challenges!" He chuckled. "Can anyone guess why?"

"Because we do them while blind-folded?" Izzy asked. "It wasn't that hard to guess."

Chris sighed, muttering, "Teenagers. Hire them while they still know everything." He smiled. "That is correct Izzy!"

"Do I get a prize?" She asked, hopefully.

"What?" Chris asked. "No!"

She glared. "Some Regis you are."

"Anyways," Chris continued. "It starts with the Blind William Tell, the Blind Trapeze, and last but not least, the Blind Toboggan of Doom."

DJ nudged Geoff from the sidelines. "So... where's Bunny at?"

Geoff frowned. "I'm I left him back at the... cabins. I'll just to get him now." He walked off, shooting a panicked look at Bridgette. She shrugged.

_Bridgette Confessional_

_It's not really Geoff's fault. I mean, DJ should NOT have left Bunny with Geoff. Geoff's my friend and all, but he's also the most accident prone guy there is._

Chris went on to explain the Blind William Tell challenge, which mostly consisted of hitting an arrow off somebody's head with an apple. "So... does everybody get it?" He asked.

"Uh, Chris?" Courtney asked. "Isn't it the other way around?"

Chris paused. "Why yes, Courtney! What an excellent idea! I'll just get someone to shoot _arrows _at your head while _blindfolded _and hope they hit the apple and not your cranium!"

Courtney paused. "Oh."

"Yeah." Chris said. "Now, our two partners will be... Tyler and Courtney and Leshawna and Owen! Step on up!"

"Oh! Oh! I'll be the shooter!" Tyler said. "I have excellant aim!"

Courtney frowned, recalling Tyler's so-called athletic 'ability'. "You better!"

Leshawna grabbed the slingshot. "Yo, home skillet, I'll be the shooter."

Owen chuckled. "Okay!"

The two shooters were blindfolded, and took aim. "Ready... set... fire!" Chris exclaimed.

The two shooters, Tyler and Leshawna, were actually pretty good. They were hitting mostly close to the arrow, with only a couple of really wide shots. In the end though, Leshawna and Owen won, Tyler hitting the arrow off Courtney's head a fraction of a second after.

Courtney sighed. "That was... actually pretty good Tyler!" She said, congratulating him. She went to move closer but, she managed to slip on one of the apples, and twisted her ankle. "OHMIGOD!" She yelled, clutching her ankle.

Tyler was the first to recover from the sonic boom that was created when she yelled. "I guess I'll take her to the infrimary!"

"What?"

"I said, I'll take her to the infirmary!"

"What?"

He sighed, picking up the groaning Courtney bridal style, and began to carry her off to the infirmary. _Is it just me, or has Tyler's athletic ability improved dramatically since coming here?_

"Now," Chris said, when the shock had worn off, "onto the second challenge." He led them over to a trapeze contraption... which happened to be hanging over a pool filled with jellyfish.

Harold frowned. "That can't be safe."

"Who said anything about safe?" Chris scoffed. "Okay, the partners will be Lindsay and Heather vs. Bridgette and Harold."

DJ confronted Geoff about Bunny again. "So... where is he?"

Geoff sighed. "I'm sorry dude... he must have hopped away."

DJ nodded. "It's not your fault. I'll just... go." He sighed, walking away.

Duncan noticed this, frowning slightly.

"You jump." Harold said. "I'll catch you."

Bridgette felt a shiver run through her. "O-okay."

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Look, Heather. I know we aren't alliance buddies anymore, but you can trust me to catch you. Alright?"

Heather nodded, appearing queasy again. "But the heights..."

"It'll be okay." Lindsay reassured her, nudging her towards the stand. "You can do it!"

Bridgette and Heather took to the stands, and put on their blindfolds. Harold managed to successfully catch Bridgette, but Heather had accidentally jumped late, causing her to fall into the pool.

"Heather," Chris said, "I'm sending you to the medical tent, You don't look that great." He paused, all smiles. "Victory... to the Bass!"

**Husha, Husha...**

Courtney sighed, grabbing her swollen ankle, watching as Heather walked in. "What happened to you?"

"Shut up!" Heather spat. "At least I didn't trip on an apple!"

Courtney blushed. "I-"

"Look," Heather sighed, "I'm sorry. It's been a rough day."

"How?" Courtney asked.

Heather frowned. "Nobody will believe me that what I did to Gwen was an accident. Then I fell into a pool of jellyfish. Either Karma doesn't believe me either, or the Man Upstairs is giving me my penance."

Courtney bit her lip, not sure what to say to that. She looked out the medical tent's flap and frowned. "What's Duncan doing with that rabbit?"

Heather shrugged. "He's been trying to catch the damn thing for a while now. I ran into him a few times on my way here."

"I'll just... find out what he's doing." Courtney said, biting her lip and limping her way out the door.

Heather smiled softly. "Oh, she so likes him."

Courtney soon found Duncan, who was now petting the Bunny, and feeding it carrots. "Duncan?"

He froze. "Um, this isn't what it looks like!"

"Yeah, sure." Courtney said, rolling her eyes. "That may work on the cops, but it's not working on me."

Duncan sighed. "Fine. Geoff somehow killed DJ's Bunny, and rather than hear him whine about it, I figured I'd catch him a new one."

"Oh... how _nice _of you, Duncan." Courtney smirked. _Yes, how nice of you, Duncan._

Duncan growled. "I'm. Not. Nice!"

Courtney smirked, and practically sang "Don't worry! Your secret is safe with me!", as she limped away.

_Duncan Confessional_

_I'll say it again. I. Am. Not. Nice! **(Frowns) **Stupid rabbit!_

**Bells on Bobsleds Ring...**

"And now for our final challenge..." Chris began, "the Blind Toboggan Race of Doom!"

Izzy rolled her eyes. "Really? Was the doom necessary?"

"Yes!" Chris whined. "Now... Geoff, DJ, Leshawna and Gwen suit up!" He threw DJ and Leshawna their blindfolds.

"Wait... hold up!" Izzy said. "Time out! Geoff gets to be in three challenges and I don't even get to be in one?"

Chris sighed. "Fine. Izzy, trade places with Gwen."

"Score!" Izzy exclaimed. Leshawna groaned. _Uh oh._

Chris led the contestants up to the top of the sled hill. "Everybody ready?" He asked, helping Leshawna and DJ tie their blindfolds on. "Now go!" He exclaimed, pushing the sleds down the hill with his foot.

"Uh, Chris?" Leshawna asked. "Weren't you supposed to wait for us to get on them first?"

Chris chuckled. "Uh, no! You would think that but... the point of this challenge is for you to direct your blindfolded partner down the hill, and try to catch the sled before it passes over the finish line. Who ever catches the sled first, wins." _Clever, no? _"Oh, yeah. The hill may also be rigged for some stuff so... be sure to watch out for that! Good luck!"

Izzy smiled. "Okay, Leshawna! Let's do this thang!"

Leshawna smirked. "You may just have a little bit of hood in you white girl. Respect."

Izzy smiled. "I do my best." She then directed Leshawna down the hill, slowly but surely.

Geoff, meanwhile, had grabbed DJ by the shoulders. "Look man, I know you're upset about bunny but we need to win this!"

"Sure. Let's do this." DJ said, shrugging off DJ's grip.

"Left!" Geoff called out, directing DJ down the hill. "No, your other left!"

DJ ambled down the hill, half-heartedly listening to Geoff's instructions, Leshawna however, was carefully acting out on everything Izzy said, finally approaching the sled.

"Now dive!" Izzy shouted. Leshawna dove, barely missing the sled. "Good try! Come on, let's do it again!"

Leshawna picked herself up, diving for the sled again, catching the corner. Chris smiled "And looks like we-"

And explosion went off, suddenly propelling DJ into the air, knocking him to the ground. _I was wondering how that all managed to avoid the bombs..._

"Are you okay, dude?" Geoff asked.

DJ nodded, and picked himself up. "Yeah, I'm alright man."

"Well, it looks like we have a winner!" Chris continued. "Bass, I'm sorry. You've lost the challenge, so I'll be seeing you tonight at the campfire ceremony!"

**Roasting Chestnuts by the Fire**

_Tyler Confessional_

_I'm not voting for Courtney, even though she's got that wonky ankle thing. She's actually a lot nicer than she seems. **(Pauses) **Plus, Duncan would kill me. So I'll get back to you, kay?_

_Duncan Confessional_

_**(Petting Bunny) **I'm voting for DJ. Dude got that worked up over a rabbit, for god's sake! Can you imagine if one of his friends got voted off?_

_Bridgette Confessional_

_Well, now that I've voted... I hope Geoff doesn't get eliminated. Really, the Bunny thing was partly my fault. I'd feel horrible if he got eliminated tonight!_

"Bass, I can't say I'm surprised. I mean, the Gophers were on a losing streak, they had to bounce back sometime!" He chuckled. "Anyways, since you all know the rules I'll just cut to the chase tonight. Courtney, Duncan, Bridgette..." he called out, throwing the marshmallows to them. "Tyler. Now... DJ, Geoff... I'm surprised to see you two here. However, the votes have been counted and the camper that is eliminated is... DJ. I'm sorry man."

DJ shrugged it off. "No... it's cool."

Duncan stood up, feeling slightly uncomfortable that everyone was staring at him. He cleared his throat and said, "Uh, I was walking in the woods earlier and- well- here's your damn rabbit, okay?"

DJ smiled, taking the rabbit from Duncan's hands and petting it. He sighed, and looked at the Boat of Losers and pushed the bunny towards Geoff. "Here. Geoff, I want you to take Bunny."

"Me?" Geoff asked. "But I was the one that lost him in the first place!"

"I know that!" DJ snapped uncharacteristically. "And if you can't take care of a fucking rabbit, how do expect to take care of yourself? Here, take good care of him, and take good care of yourself." He handed the rabbit over to a confused Geoff.

"Thanks." Geoff muttered.

DJ smiled sadly. "You'll see." He muttered, boarding the boat. "You'll see."

**A Game of Telephone**

Chris picked up his phone on the fifth ring, poking at the remains of the nights campfire. "Chris here."

"Hello, little brother." Emmanuel smirked, from the other side of the phone.

Chris sighed. "It's been a long day. What do you want?"

"We would just like to say that we're very impressed with your work, Chris." Emmanuel spoke. "Unlike our mother and father."

"Really?" Chris exclaimed. "You called to rub it in my face that our dead parents liked _you _better than _me_?"

"Of course not, Chris... that was merely a bonus." Emmanuel said. "We are sincerely impressed with you work. In fact, we're thinking of rehiring you the next time we do this."

"You're doing it again?" Chris exclaimed.

Emmanuel chuckled. "Oh, Chris. We're always looking for new members to replace the old ones... this is the best way for them to improve their worth."

"That's disgusting! Find them some other way!" Chris said. "How can you do that?"

"How can you stand back and watch it unfold?" Emmanuel retorted.

Chris sighed. "It's different. I have no choice."

"And do I?" Emmanuel said. "Do we ever have a choice?"

"Yes." Chris shot back. "The choice between right and wrong."

Emmanuel smirked. "Still a holy roller, I see."

"Still doing the devil's work, I see." Chris mocked.

Emmanuel chuckled. "No, I'm afraid Westing works for me."

Chris sighed. "That reminds me. Look, Duncan really likes Courtney. Please tell me Courtney's not one of your illegitimate children, it would kill him."

Emmanuel broke out laughing. "Westing? Ha! I wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole!"

"Good. Look, I have to go." Chris said.

"Wait a minute." Emmanuel said. "I've been thinking about what you said... about finding new members another way."

Chris sighed impatiently. "And?"

"I think I might have the solution." Emmanuel spoke.

"Which is?" Chris asked.

It was too late. The line had already gone dead.

* * *

Ooh. Is it just me, or do Chris and Emmanuel kind of remind you of Dan and Keith from One Tree Hill?

**Challenges:**

**1. **Find out the GRAVE riddle, and it's meaning.

**2. **Can anyone tell me why I used the nursery rhyme Husha, Husha to use as the title for the infirmary part? It shouldn't be too hard... if you know the meaning.

-Pursuit


End file.
